Balfour Beatty starts on M1 upgrade job

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Balfour Beatty is set to start work on the A421 road scheme between the M1 motorway near Milton Keynes and Bedford for the Highways Agency.

The Early Contractor Involvement project was awarded to Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering in late 2005.

A 13km dual carriageway linking the existing ring road to the south of Bedford will be built under the scheme worth up to £231 million. The M1 junction 13 will also be remodelled.

Balfour Beatty chief executive Ian Tyler said: "We are very pleased to get construction underway on another Early Contractor Involvement scheme with the Highways Agency. 

"The opportunity afforded by this form of contract to work in partnership with the customer, the designer and other stakeholder groups in developing the scheme helps ensure the best possible project out-turn."

The new road is scheduled to open in late 2010.