Galliford Try Named In Sizewell C Contracts For Construction Of Link Road And Bypass

Sizewell C has awarded road and infrastructure contracts to Galliford Try and local firms to support the construction of the 3.2GW nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast.

Galliford Try has been appointed to the construction of a new 6.5km Sizewell Link Road and 1.8km Two Village Bypass, while Suffolk-based, family-owned civil engineering contractor, Breheny Civil Engineering has been engaged to build two new connecting roundabouts on the A12.

The Sizewell Link Road – expected to be completed in 2027 – will be a 6.5km new road bypassing local villages, Theberton and Middleton Moor, with new roundabouts and junction at each end to connect to existing road infrastructure.

The Two Village Bypass – to be built by the end of 2026 – will enable construction traffic to bypass the villages of Farnham and Stratford St Andrew.

The connecting A12 roundabouts at Friday Street and Yoxford are intended to enable safer connections and improve safety on parts of the A12 regarded as a risk for drivers.

The contracts have been awarded in line with preparations to progress the delivery of off-site infrastructure to support the construction of the nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast.

They follow an earlier award to Ipswich-based Jackson Civil Engineering to deliver key road schemes for the project.

The new major road schemes will play a role in limiting the impact on the existing road infrastructure and reducing local impacts during the construction phase. Sizewell C has committed to delivering 60% of materials by rail or sea to limit impacts on local roads, and recently announced a trial of hydrogen buses to transport construction workers.

Sizewell C site delivery director Damian Leydon described the contracts as “a milestone in the offsite infrastructure we need to build Sizewell C.”

He added: “By building these roads and roundabouts, we can deliver what we need safely and efficiently, and we can reduce the impact of construction traffic on the existing road network here in Suffolk at the same time.”

Leydon added that minimising disruption was “a big part of our job”, adding that the new road schemes would form part of a wider programme to enable this, including park and rides, freight management facilities, and rail and sea infrastructure.

He noted that the contracts also demonstrated the Sizewell C’s commitment “to delivering high-value contracts to businesses here in Suffolk and across the UK” adding that there was an “abundance of the kind of skilled people we need right here in this region.”

Breheny Civil Engineering regional commercial director Mark Burrows said: “Sizewell C offers Suffolk an incredible opportunity to showcase the region’s extensive talent and resources, providing work opportunities for years to come.

“We originally worked on Sizewell B in the 1980s, we have completed several projects on Sizewell C already, and we’re delighted to have now been awarded the construction of the new roundabouts on the A12 at Yoxford and Friday Street.

“We’ve been working on sections of the A12 since the 1970s and look forward to continuing to improve the A12 with the building of the new roundabouts to support the construction of Sizewell C.”

Breheny employs in-house teams and has a long-term supply chain, delivering works across East Anglia, the Southeast, Midlands and Yorkshire.

Suffolk Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Dugmore said: “Witnessing the breadth of activity now taking place across the project, alongside the growing list of contracts being awarded to local and regional firms such as Breheny and Jacksons, is the start of what Sizewell C will continue to deliver as part of their nuclear new build legacy in Suffolk.

“With the government’s recent announcements around construction jobs and bringing forward at pace infrastructure projects, it is more important than ever before that Sizewell C and other major developers harness local and regional supply chains. This will ensure together we build a legacy for an ever-vibrant local economy, and act as a catalyst for growth and investment for the county and region.”

Sizewell C has said it will support “70,000 high-quality jobs across the UK” and is committed to spending £4.4bn in the East of England alone across the construction period.

It has over 1,000 working on the project and is expected to have around 2000 people by the end of the year. Around 60 apprentices have joined the project to date - the first of a projected 1,500 apprenticeships the project will deliver over the construction period, 540 of which will come from the local area.

The cost of building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk has doubled since the plans were presented to the UK government in 2020 and could now reach close to £40bn, according to Financial Times reporting in January.

NCE recently reported that French energy company EDF had reduced its stake in Sizewell C following investment by the UK government using its Devex (development expenditure) subsidy scheme established last August.

The government said it had created the Sizewell C Devex Scheme to “provide the government with greater flexibility to cover development expenditure costs up to and including FID, subject to appropriate Value for Money (VfM) assessments and approvals at the relevant time”.

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