To complete the M5 Junction 10 Improvements Scheme, Gloucestershire County Council has started looking for a contractor. The £200M contract is for the design and delivery of M5 Junction 10 enhancement works, as well as the widening of the A4019 Tewkesbury Route and a new road connecting Junction 10 to West Cheltenham.
The deadline for submitting selection documents is September 16. The authorities will next assess the submissions and choose the top five qualified applicants to move on to the tender stage. The council is now anticipated to choose the primary contractor for the junction improvements in February of next year. The upgrading program was initially scheduled to start this July.
The £200M contract has been put back out to bid to take into account “current market conditions,” which will include revisions made “in the context of current economic and sector outlooks (e.g. inflation)” as well as a simpler approach to early contractor involvement.
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M5 Junction 10 project scope
The plan is being advanced in part to relieve congestion on the motorway system at Junction 10. Additionally, it will support wider ambitions to build up to 35,000 additional houses. Thus, it will generate 39,500 new jobs in the neighborhood by 2031.
Since a Joint Core Strategy (JCS), a partnership between Gloucester City Council, Cheltenham Borough Council, and Tewkesbury Borough Council, has been formed to produce a coordinated strategic development plan to show how the region will develop during the period up to 2031, the project is seen as essential to achieving Gloucestershire’s vision for economic growth.
National Highways highlighted the project as essential to preserving the M5 corridor’s safe and effective operation. It is also set to facilitate the anticipated development and economic growth in the region. The Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) received a business case in March 2019 and successfully approved funding in March 2020. Since then, efforts have been made to create a preferred configuration. This calls for renovating the current junction and centering a grade-separated roundabout on it. The goal is to finish the M5 Junction 10 project in April 2027.
