Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Constructor awarded £60m airport hub contract
CONSTRUCTOR Griffiths Farrans JV has been awarded a contract to deliver a public transport hub as part of Bristol Airport’s largest-ever capital project.
The contractor will use the £60m investment to create a public transport interchange hub and multi-storey car park, which will enhance services and accessibility for customers arriving and leaving the South West transport hub.
Enabling works started in May to divert services and work has now begun to construct a new access ramp to the existing remaining car parks. The project forms part of Bristol Airport’s overall multi-million-pound transformational development plan enabling 12 million passengers a year to use the airport.
Griffiths Farrans JV will build an enlarged public transport interchange hub, improved internal road system and an additional multi-storey car park providing customer improvements such as waiting rooms and rest facilities.
The public transport interchange hub will provide access for coaches, buses and other forms of public transport on the top level of the multi-storey car park.
The hub will more than double the number of bus/coach bays to 16, while the top level of the car park will provide a dedicated drop off and pick up location close to the terminal.
Dave Lees, chief executive of Bristol Airport, said: “This project is transformational for our customers. It is the largest single capital investment project since the terminal opened in 2000 and will take 18 months to complete. As with all large-scale projects, they are complex and the development work will need to be phased to accommodate the normal day-to-day airport operations.
“During the project, customers will see several temporary changes taking place, including temporary relocation of some car parks and changes to internal roads layouts. We will continue to keep customers informed of the changes via directional signage, customer messaging on car park bookings, the website and on social media.”
Simon Dunn, pre-construction director at Griffiths Farrans JV, said: “Griffiths and Farrans have worked in partnership with Bristol Airport and fellow CRH business Tarmac to deliver the optimum solution for the airport, with a keen focus on sustainability.
“Over 100,000 tonnes of excavated material will be processed into suitable material for use in the project. All asphalt materials removed from the existing car park will also be processed for re-use within the asphalt material that will be provided for the perimeter roads.
“This project is a great example of what can be achieved when both client and contractor work in an open and collaborative way, something that has been instilled in the project team from day one.”