---
title: "Lower Thames Crossing - Tunnels and Approaches"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-043888"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-043888"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-043888.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-043888.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NATIONAL HIGHWAYS"
published: "2024-02-08"
---

# Lower Thames Crossing - Tunnels and Approaches

Buyer: NATIONAL HIGHWAYS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-043888

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-043888)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-043888.json)

## Summary

National Highways, a government company responsible for England's strategic road networks, is undertaking a procurement process for the Lower Thames Crossing - Tunnels and Approaches contract. This construction project aims to alleviate congestion at the Dartford Crossing by creating a new road connecting Kent, Thurrock, and Essex through tunnels under the River Thames. The selected contractors will design and construct two tunnels with a three-lane carriageway, approach roads, tunnel control systems, and a landscape maintenance agreement. The procurement method being used is Competitive Dialogue, and the status of this tender is complete.

This contracting opportunity presents significant business prospects for companies involved in construction, engineering, tunneling, electrical installations, mechanical systems, and related architectural services. Businesses capable of delivering large-scale infrastructure projects, particularly those with experience in tunnel construction and road engineering, would be well-suited to compete for this contract. National Highways, the buying organisation, has set clear award criteria focusing on quality and price, offering a substantial contract value of £1,344,687,196. Companies interested in this opportunity should be prepared to engage in a competitive dialogue process in line with the requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015 No. 102).

## Notice

National Highways is the government company charged with operating, maintaining and improving England's strategic road networks. The Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) is a proposed new road connecting Kent, Thurrock and Essex through tunnels underneath the River Thames. The Programme will relieve the congested Dartford Crossing and approach roads and improve their performance by providing sufficient north-south road capacity. On the south side of the River Thames, the new road will link the tunnel to the A2 and M2 in Kent. On the north side, it will link to the A13 and junction 29 of the M25 in the London Borough of Havering. There are Three Main Works contracts in this Programme. This procurement is for the Tunnels and Approaches contract only, which will interface with the other two Main Works contracts.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The Project is to design and construct two highway tunnels beneath the River Thames and has been procured under the Competitive Dialogue Procedure. The contract governing the Project is based on the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) form of contract. The scope includes the portal structures, approach roads, the tunnel controls systems (MEICA) and a five year landscape maintenance and aftercare contract. At circa 16 metres in diameter, these tunnels will be some of the largest bored tunnels in the world. Each tunnel will feature a three-lane carriage way. Each tunnel will be circa 4km in length, with approximately 1km of approach roads from each portal connecting into the two neighbouring roads contracts.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004306-2024 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Works |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive dialogue |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 Feb 2024 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 15 Dec 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £1,344,687,196 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NATIONAL HIGHWAYS |
| Locality | BEDFORD |
| Post town | Milton Keynes |
| Postcode | MK41 7LW |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLH24 Bedford |
| Local authority | Bedford |
| Electoral ward | Harpur |
| Westminster constituency | Bedford |
| Delivery location | TLH East (England), TLH32 Thurrock, TLJ South East (England), TLJ4 Kent |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 2 |
| Supplier names | BOUYGUES TRAVAUX PUBLICS; J MURPHY & SONS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 31 - Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting
- 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
- 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 45 - Construction work
- 51 - Installation services (except software)
- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
- 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

### Codes

- 31600000 - Electrical equipment and apparatus
- 31625100 - Fire-detection systems
- 34928110 - Road barriers
- 34928470 - Signage
- 35110000 - Firefighting, rescue and safety equipment
- 35111000 - Firefighting equipment
- 35111500 - Fire suppression system
- 45000000 - Construction work
- 45112500 - Earthmoving work
- 45221000 - Construction work for bridges and tunnels, shafts and subways
- 45221200 - Construction work for tunnels, shafts and subways
- 45221240 - Construction work for tunnels
- 45221245 - Under-river tunnel construction work
- 45221247 - Tunnelling works
- 45233000 - Construction, foundation and surface works for highways, roads
- 45233100 - Construction work for highways, roads
- 45233120 - Road construction works
- 45310000 - Electrical installation work
- 45350000 - Mechanical installations
- 51100000 - Installation services of electrical and mechanical equipment
- 71000000 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
- 71200000 - Architectural and related services
- 71311220 - Highways engineering services
- 71321000 - Engineering design services for mechanical and electrical installations for buildings
- 71322000 - Engineering design services for the construction of civil engineering works
- 71334000 - Mechanical and electrical engineering services
- 71400000 - Urban planning and landscape architectural services
- 71420000 - Landscape architectural services
- 71500000 - Construction-related services
- 92222000 - Closed circuit television services

## Release History

- 8 Feb 2024 at 18:05 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004306-2024

## Notice URLs

- https://nationalhighways.co.uk/
- https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:549440-2020:TEXT:EN:HTML

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-043888. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-043888.json.