Lower Thames Crossing - Detailed Design Services for Contestable Gas Assets

Tender description

National Highways is the government company charged with operating, maintaining and improving England's motorways and major A roads. We are delivering the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC), a new high-quality dual carriageway connecting Kent, Thurrock and Essex through a tunnel beneath the River Thames. This is the most ambitious roads project in the UK for more than a generation. The project will be transformational for the UK economy, while offering new connections, better journeys and fewer delays. This Contract Award Notice is being issued notify the market of the appointment of a designer to support design services for contestable gas assets on the LTC project. Lot 1: The LTC project affects a number of statutory undertakers' assets. This contract is to undertake the detailed design for the diversion of approximately 17 affected low, intermediate and medium pressure gas pipelines, which are owned by Cadent Gas Ltd (Cadent) and have been deemed to be contestable by Cadent. These assets are located along the LTC route between the proposed north tunnel portal and the proposed junction with the M25. The length of each individual diversion ranges from 300m to several kilometeres, with a total length of pipelines to be diverted of approximately 13km. The detailed design study will conclude by obtaining a letter of acceptance from Cadent. The majority of contestable assets within scope have been agreed with Cadent during the initial LTC NRSWA/C2 enquiry and have been accepted by Cadent via submission of a Feasibility Study Report. However, a small number of those assets are known to be within the LTC works area but have not been assured to date via site investigations, so the location, characteristics and extent of the works is assumed. This will be required to be investigated to highlight any discrepancies and refine the extent of the scope for detailed design. The designer will undertake a gap analysis on the information provided and agree any further site investigations with National Highways, which will be delivered via LTC's existing contracts. These assets do not have an accepted Feasibility Study Report and as such may require an additional submission to Cadent to obtain acceptance at Cadent Stage Gate "Final Design Review - Refresh (FDR-R)". The designer will work with LTC throughout the detailed design to coordinate their design with LTC's and third parties' (in particular, other statutory undertakers) designs. The designer will also engage with Cadent via LTC to meet the requirements of the Cadent Stage Gate Definition.