Geomechanics.io

Swiss Federal Railways has awarded an Implenia/Marti 50:50 joint venture five of six MehrSpur Zurich–Winterthur lots worth just under CHF 1.7 billion, including the 8.3 km Brüttener tunnel (Lot 240) with twin 10 m diameter single-track tubes and a 1 km spur to Zurich Airport. TBM excavation will start in August 2029, with a roughly ten-year construction phase using BIM for planning and execution and extensive special foundations, earthworks and embankments. Additional works cover full redevelopment of Dietlikon station, about 6 km of new track across Dietlikon and Wallisellen sections, multiple underpasses, bridges and the Neumühle railway bridge and Storchen underpass near Winterthur.

TBM Xihe, a 7.3m-diameter, 100m-long, 1,000-tonne Herrenknecht slurry machine, has completed the up-track drive to the future Tung Chung West Station and has begun boring the down-track tunnel towards Tung Chung Station for MTR’s Tung Chung Line Extension in Hong Kong. The Bouygues Travaux Publics–Dragages Hong Kong JV turned the TBM underground within the launch shaft using a push-pull method and self-propelled modular transporter, avoiding full disassembly and surface transport. About 1.3km of new twin-bore tunnels are being driven close to existing rail and urban structures, with commissioning targeted for 2029.

Gamuda Engineering has secured the Sydney Metro Stations Package West as principal contractor, covering design and construction of five new underground stations at Westmead, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and The Bays on the 24km Sydney Metro West line between Greater Parramatta and the CBD. The scope includes deep station boxes, entrances and access points, full station fit-out and integration with surrounding precincts, with Laing O’Rourke and DT Infrastructure joining as MetroVista delivery partners. Site works are scheduled to start on Monday, 5 January 2026.

Construction has commenced on a new reinforced concrete replacement for the 1947 timber Rainbow Creek Bridge on Traralgon–Maffra Road between Cowwarr and Heyfield in regional Victoria. The project includes realignment of both road approaches to improve geometry and load performance compared with the ageing timber structure, which is likely constrained under current heavy vehicle configurations. For geotechnical and civil teams, key tasks will centre on new creek-crossing foundations, approach embankment works and managing construction staging to maintain regional traffic connectivity.

More than 280 roads across Australia will receive Federal Government funding for safety upgrades in 2025–26 under the national Black Spot Program, targeting locations with a documented crash history or high predicted crash risk. Works will focus on engineering treatments such as new or upgraded traffic signals, installation of roundabouts and other geometric improvements at intersections and mid-block sections. Designers and road authorities can expect funding support specifically for physical, site-specific interventions rather than broader corridor renewals or routine maintenance.

HS2’s Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture will start driving the Euston link tunnels from Old Oak Common next week, progressing the underground connection towards the central London terminus. The works will extend the existing Old Oak Common tunnel drives, using large-diameter TBMs to thread beneath dense urban infrastructure and utilities on the approach to Euston. Geotechnical and structural interface risks around existing Network Rail assets and deep foundations will be critical, with settlement control and real-time monitoring likely to dominate construction methodology.

National Grid has lodged four planning applications to upgrade the high‑voltage transmission route between Pentir, near Bangor, and Trawsfynydd in north‑west Wales, a key corridor for moving power from existing and planned generation in Snowdonia. The works are expected to involve reinforcement of existing 400kV infrastructure, substation modifications and associated civil works along the existing wayleave rather than a completely new route. Geotechnical and civil teams should anticipate foundation strengthening, access upgrades and construction phasing constraints on an energised strategic asset.

The British Construction & Infrastructure Awards 2026 have opened for entries, marking the 39th year of the UK programme recognising major civil engineering and infrastructure delivery. Organised by New Civil Engineer, the BCIAs typically cover categories spanning bridges, tunnels, rail, highways, water, energy and digital design, with judging focused on technical innovation, programme performance and whole‑life asset outcomes. Project teams, clients and contractors now have a limited window to submit schemes, with shortlisted entries often used as benchmarks for design standards, construction methods and risk management practice.

Civil engineering contractor Barhale has promoted southern regional director Phil Cull to national executive director, adding him to the company’s strategic board. His former southern region remit is being split, with former water director Shane Gorman becoming southern region director – infrastructure and projects director Daniel Meadowcroft moving to southern region director – projects, both joining the operations board. Gorman and Meadowcroft will report to newly appointed chief operating executive James Ingamells, signalling a tighter, board-level focus on regional delivery of Barhale’s infrastructure and project portfolios.

Homes England has signed a building lease with Vistry to redevelop Birmingham’s decommissioned City Hospital site into 750 homes, including 698 new-build units and 52 one- and two-bedroom apartments within the converted former infirmary, with 35% of the scheme designated as affordable housing. Asbestos removal began in December 2025, with major demolition of most existing hospital structures to follow and main construction scheduled for the second half of 2026. First completions are targeted for early 2027, turning a complex brownfield healthcare estate into a dense, mixed-tenure urban neighbourhood with some commercial uses.

Westmorland & Furness Council has appointed Muse Places, working through the ECF partnership with Homes England and Legal & General, as development partner for Barrow’s Marina Village, a waterfront neighbourhood planned for around 1,350 homes plus a nature conservation area and public open space. Phase one remediation of six hectares, funded by £5.5m from the Getting Building Fund, finished in November 2023, while phase two is remediating a further 19 hectares with £24.8m BIL funding, including realignment of Cavendish Dock Road, utilities diversion/protection and temporary relocation of a council waste depot. Planning approval for phase three, which will unlock a further 16% of the site once biodiversity net gain credits are agreed, and the new pre-development agreement will lead into a full master development agreement covering design, infrastructure phasing and funding.

Contracts signed by Southwark Council with Wates Residential and Mount Anvil will deliver at least 1,149 new homes across eight infill and estate sites in Peckham, Camberwell, Rotherhithe and Bermondsey. Wates will build a minimum of 343 homes on Gloucester Grove, Bells Gardens, Lindley Estate and Wyndham Road, all classed as affordable, including at least 131 new council units. Mount Anvil will deliver at least 786 homes at Seven Islands Leisure Centre, Red Lion Boys Club, Priter Road and Beormund School, with a minimum 50% affordable and at least 229 council homes.

Westminster City Council has agreed a £229m budget with McLaren Construction for phase two of the Ebury Bridge regeneration in Knightsbridge and Belgravia, covering three independent and two adjoined residential blocks that required four separate building safety applications to the Building Safety Regulator. The wider scheme will deliver 779 homes across three phases, including 373 for social rent, with phase two adding 334 units, 228 of them for social rent, plus reinstated Ebury Bridge Road retail frontage and new commercial premises. McLaren will use prefabricated façade elements to cut material movements, with main construction starting later in 2025 and completion scheduled for May 2029.

Zenzic Capital and Jensco have launched a UK single-family rental platform by forward funding 125 new-build Vistry homes at the Great Haddon scheme in Peterborough, backed by an initial £31m investment. Construction of the purpose-built rental units is due to start later this year, with Vistry using its partnership model to deliver professionally managed, higher energy-performance homes for strong local demand. The Zenzic-Jensco venture targets a portfolio of around 1,000 homes, signalling growing institutional capital flows into single-family build-to-rent product.

Engineering and design firm Cowi has been appointed by the European Investment Bank to advise the Irish government on a nationwide district heating strategy expected to support up to €4bn (£3.5bn) of heat network infrastructure by 2035. The mandate will shape technical standards, phasing and financing for multiple urban heat networks, likely integrating waste heat, large-scale heat pumps and thermal storage into existing gas- and electricity-dominated systems. Civil and energy engineers should expect demand for detailed network routing, trench design, and interface works with dense urban utilities and building retrofit programmes.

Construction of the Chimney Hollow Reservoir in Colorado has delivered the US’s largest asphalt-core rockfill dam (ACRD), with main works now complete and the structure built to full height on schedule. Engineers had to manage complex rockfill placement around a central asphalt core, stringent seepage control, and tight temperature and compaction windows for the asphaltic concrete in a high-altitude environment. The project’s performance will be closely watched by dam designers considering ACRD solutions for sites with challenging foundations and seismic demands.

Two major Victorian road intersection projects are advancing, with Fulton Hogan awarded the Henderson Road–Ferntree Gully Road upgrade in Knoxfield and an $83.5 million contract let for the Ballan Road intersection in Melbourne’s west. Works will reconfigure both intersections to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion while adding safer walking and cycling movements through new signalisation and layout changes. Civil contractors can expect significant pavement reconstruction, drainage adjustments and staged traffic management on constrained urban corridors.

The Worley Arcadis Joint Venture has secured the marine technical advisory contract for Western Australia’s Westport programme, one of the state’s largest infrastructure undertakings centred on a new container port and associated road and rail links in Kwinana. The JV will advise on channel alignment, berth layout, breakwaters and dredging strategies, feeding into detailed planning for deep-water access and long-term port capacity beyond Fremantle’s current constraints. Geotechnical, coastal and structural inputs from this work will strongly influence reclamation design, ground improvement requirements and future marine construction methodologies.

Rail minister Lord Hendy has conceded that a new high-capacity rail line between the West Midlands and Crewe may be required earlier than Northern Powerhouse Rail because the West Coast Main Line is already close to its train path limits. The section between Birmingham, Stafford and Crewe is a key mixed-traffic bottleneck, carrying intercity, commuter and heavy freight services on shared tracks. Earlier delivery of this link would force a re-think of phasing, interfaces with existing WCML junctions and future-proofing for higher line speeds and longer trains.

European governments are being urged by an independent climate think‑tank to classify parts of North Sea offshore wind infrastructure as defence assets and fund them from expanded military budgets. The proposal, timed ahead of the North Seas Summit, centres on using defence spending to harden subsea power cables, offshore substations and grid interconnectors against sabotage and hybrid threats. For civil and marine engineers, this signals potential new design criteria for critical energy structures, including higher physical protection standards, redundancy in export cables and closer integration with naval surveillance systems.

David Cormack has begun a two-year tenure as Chair of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) Board from 1 January 2026, succeeding former Chair Oliver Auston. Cormack previously served two years as Vice Chair and sat on LEEA’s Technical Committee, giving him direct influence over standards and guidance for cranes, hoists and lifting accessories widely used in mining and heavy civil projects. His appointment signals continuity in technical governance for inspection, certification and safe lifting practice across global operations.

Huws Gray has taken over the former Thornbridge timber merchant site in Ayr from the administrators of National Timber Group, relaunching it as a dedicated timber merchanting branch and securing the existing jobs. The move follows recent investment in Huws Gray’s flagship timber mill in Grangemouth and is part of a strategy to expand timber capabilities across Scotland, with further recruitment planned. The Ayr branch, still managed by Lynne Douglas, will retain local supply relationships while progressively widening its timber and related product range over the coming months.

Willmott Dixon has promoted Adam Worrall to managing director of its fit-out arm, Willmott Dixon Interiors, creating the MD role after he spent 18 months as deputy managing director and 25 years with the group. The business, previously led operationally by chief operating officer Roger Forsdyke without a formal MD position, now has Worrall focused on performance culture, clear accountability and team capability. He reports a strong project pipeline and says the division is already building a substantial order book for 2027–2028, signalling sustained demand for interior fit-out works.

Australian specialist Marr Contracting is deploying a diesel-powered Favelle Favco M2480D luffing tower crane on Kanadevia Inova’s construction of Encyclis’ Walsall Energy Recovery Facility, which will convert up to 436,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste into about 49 MWe annually. The Malaysian-built M2480D can handle 330 tonnes at 15 m or 100 tonnes at 45 m with roughly 130 m hook height and no ties, and on this project is configured for 100-tonne lifts. Key picks include a 78-tonne economiser and 69-tonne boiler drum, enabling larger DFMA modules and fewer overall lifts.

The British Antarctic Survey is recruiting trades and support staff, including carpenters, plumbers, plant operators, boat handlers and scuba divers, for its Rothera and Halley VI research stations in Antarctica. Contracts run from six to 18 months with salaries from £30,244 per year, and BAS covers accommodation, food, travel, specialist cold-weather clothing, tools and training, making posts effectively zero living-cost roles. Station work involves maintaining and adapting modular, self-sufficient facilities in extreme polar conditions to keep year-round science operations running.

Herefordshire Council has awarded M Group Highways a public realm services contract from June 2026, replacing Balfour Beatty for highway maintenance, drainage, street lighting, winter maintenance and associated public realm tasks. The council will internalise asset management, network management, highways inspections, design and project management, customer services and fleet management, with M Group paid on specified work at agreed rates rather than a fully outsourced model. Locality stewards will transfer from Balfour Beatty to the council, inspecting roads and defining work packages for the new contractor, tightening client control over scope and spend.

Cheshire-based mechanical and electrical contractor Key Integrated Services has appointed former Bouygues Energies & Services deputy managing director Adeel Aslam as chief operating officer. Aslam will expand the firm’s offer in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, food and beverage, and health and life sciences by adding process engineering and decarbonisation services, alongside new governance, people development and sustainability structures. He will retain advisory roles with the Advanced Manufacturing Forum North West, Bionow, the Greater Manchester Electrochemical Hydrogen Cluster and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Health & Life Sciences Cluster Board, signalling closer alignment with regional innovation networks.

Bristol City Leap, a joint venture between Bristol City Council and Ameresco, has launched a £25m retrofit programme to bring social housing in Henbury, Brentry, Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston up to at least EPC band C by March 2028. Works include external and cavity wall insulation, loft, roof and floor insulation, upgraded glazing and external doors, solar PV, energy‑efficient heat pumps, enhanced ventilation and low‑energy lighting. Funded through the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and managed by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, the scheme will test an area‑based delivery model at city scale.

Graham Interior Fit-Out has secured the multi-million pound principal contract to refurbish the Royal Automobile Club’s Woodcote Park estate in Epsom, a 350-acre green belt site with a Grade II Listed main house and multiple listed outbuildings. The programme covers upgrades to 21 bedrooms and corridors, full bathroom refurbishments, new finishes and fixtures, and reconfiguration of the main entrance and reception areas. Scope also includes masonry, roofing and window restoration, landscaping and car park works, plus installation of EV charging points, requiring careful coordination of heritage fabric repairs with modern services integration.

JCB has secured a US$205m contract to supply the US Marine Corps with 535 militarised JCB 437HT wheeled loaders under the TRAM (Tractor, Rubber Tired, Articulated-Steering Multi-Purpose) vehicle programme, with test units due this year and full production from 2027. The deal follows a US$45m order for militarised 4CX backhoe loaders and a US$39m contract for Teleskid-based multi terrain loaders agreed earlier in 2024. For civil and military engineers, the repeat orders signal long-term fleet commonality and parts support for JCB heavy equipment in expeditionary earthmoving roles.

Construction of three cut-and-cover precast “green tunnels” on HS2’s central section at Wendover is being sequenced so delivery teams can copy and refine methods from earlier drives, cutting programme risk and improving safety. Standardised precast portal units and repeatable temporary works details are being reused across the tunnels, allowing faster installation cycles, tighter quality control on waterproofing and backfill, and more predictable ground-structure interaction. Lessons on logistics, lifting operations and working within narrow rural corridors are being transferred between sites to reduce plant clashes and temporary land-take.

Safety upgrades are now complete at the Stud Road–McFees Road intersection in Dandenong North, with new signalised traffic lights and rebuilt pedestrian crossings serving flows to and from Dandenong Stadium. The works formalise crossing movements for pedestrians and cyclists on this high-volume arterial, replacing unsignalised movements that previously relied on driver gap acceptance. For designers and road safety engineers, the project signals continued federal–state funding support for low-cost intersection treatments that separate vulnerable users from turning traffic in suburban activity corridors.

Early design choices for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) can lock in long-term performance, with Stuart Crisp, UK manager at Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS), stressing realistic runoff estimates, storage sizing and adoption of proprietary geocellular or plastic pipe systems from the outset. He argues that maintenance access, silt management and ownership responsibilities must be designed in early, rather than retrofitted, to avoid blocked inlets, inaccessible attenuation tanks and non-compliant outfalls. For civil and drainage engineers, the message is to integrate SuDS layout, hydraulic modelling and whole-life maintenance planning at concept stage, not RIBA Stage 4–5.

Cyberattacks in 2025 costing the UK up to £14.7bn a year are exposing how vulnerable complex, multi-tier infrastructure supply chains are to ransomware, data theft and operational disruption. Civil engineering clients, Tier 1 contractors and specialist subcontractors are increasingly linked through shared BIM environments, cloud-based CDEs and remote monitoring systems, creating multiple entry points via poorly secured SMEs and legacy OT. For project teams, this raises the bar on supplier due diligence, network segmentation and incident response planning across entire asset lifecycles.

Goldman Sachs will acquire not only Mace Group’s consultancy arm but also the Mace brand, meaning Mace Construct will adopt a new name once the transaction completes and Mace Consult becomes an independent organisation in January under CEO Davendra Dabasia. The construction contracting business, which grew from a 1990 boutique consultancy into a major London contractor delivering complex schemes, will co-create its new identity with staff, clients, suppliers and partners through 2026. For now, both units continue trading as Mace Construct and Mace Consult.

Strabag UK has acquired the assets of Gunning Transmission & Distribution Services (GTDS) from Ethical Power Group to accelerate its move into regulated high-voltage transmission and commissioning work in the UK and Ireland. GTDS, which will continue operating from its Stafford offices, has grown turnover from £16m in 2022 to £96m in the year to August 2024, bringing an established client base and specialist HV installation capability. The deal gives Strabag in-house expertise for power infrastructure programmes linked to upgrading and modernising the UK electricity network.

A seven-figure equity injection from the Development Bank of Wales’ Wales Business Succession Fund has financed a management buy-out of Cardiff-based DRAC Consulting, securing 20 building services engineering jobs. The deal transfers ownership to 34-year-old managing director Lewis Doherty, a former junior electrical engineer and son of co-founder Carl Bassett, with SME Finance Partners’ Chris Thomas becoming non-executive chair. Founded in 2009, DRAC delivers mechanical, electrical and public health (MEP) design and supervision for local authorities, housing associations, health boards and private developers.

Construction of HS2’s 10-mile (16 km) twin-bore Chiltern tunnel has finished, with five ventilation and access shafts sunk to depths of up to 78 m and 40 cross passages now complete, allowing rail systems installation to begin. Align JV – Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine and Volker Fitzpatrick – drove two 2,000-tonne TBMs from near the M25 at Maple Cross at an average 16 m/day, breaking through near Great Missenden in early 2024. The tunnel, HS2’s longest and second structurally complete twin-bore, now moves into track, overhead line and MEP fit-out despite the wider project’s delays and cost overruns.

Balfour Beatty has appointed solicitor Kay Slade as managing director of its UK Regional Civils business from February 2026, succeeding interim MD Mark Arrandale, who returns to his finance director role. Slade joined the company as managing counsel in April 2022 and became northwest area director two years later, where she reshaped the regional civils portfolio by consolidating its footprint and improving performance. Her promotion signals Balfour Beatty’s intent to pair commercial and legal acumen with operational leadership as it targets a “strong pipeline” of regional infrastructure work.

Caddick Construction Group has appointed former Tilbury Douglas Yorkshire and northeast regional director Paul Ellenor as managing director of Caddick Civil Engineering, tasking him with leading work-winning, operational delivery, commercial performance, and health and safety. Ellenor, who spent nearly 39 years at Tilbury Douglas before his departure in October, replaces Simon Martin, now business development director at Strabag UK. Based between Caddick’s Wakefield head office and its new Durham office opened last year, he is expected to drive expansion of the civils model from Yorkshire into the northeast, northwest and Midlands.

Morgan Sindall Construction has started a £68.7m refurbishment of Hackney’s Grade II-listed Kings Hall Leisure Centre, originally opened in 1897, under the Southern Construction Framework. Works include retaining the existing large pool while adding a second full-size pool and a smaller teaching pool, plus a double-height sports hall, extended gym and studio spaces, and a fully accessible new entrance from Clapton Square. FaulknerBrowns Architects and Alan Baxter Civil & Structural Engineering are leading design, with completion targeted for autumn 2028 and careful retention of the historic façade, glazed brickwork and balustrades.

Chance Instant Foundations marks 50 years since Dayton Power and Light’s 1976 field trial of screw-type streetlight foundations using 8-inch helical anchors for 30'6" aluminium poles on a four-lane connector and 6-inch anchors for 23' poles in a residential plat. Crews, initially untrained, installed 16 foundations in 12 working hours, later averaging 17 minutes per site including adapter plate setup, drilling to ground level and removal. The hollow-shaft anchors doubled as cable-ways, were fully retrievable, eliminated concrete supply and curing delays, and gained Standards Committee approval for one- to five-pole installations where soil conditions allow.

Early works on the Dunheved Road Upgrade in New South Wales will start this month after Penrith City Council appointed Georgiou Group to deliver the project. The upgrade targets safety and capacity on a key east–west arterial linking Werrington Road and Richmond Road, improving access to the Dunheved industrial area and the broader Penrith region. Early activities are expected to focus on service relocations, traffic management setup and site establishment, setting constraints for later pavement widening, intersection upgrades and drainage improvements.

Civil engineering works are now complete on HS2’s twin‑bore Chiltern tunnel, a 16km structure that will be the longest tunnel on the UK’s high‑speed line. The milestone covers full excavation and primary lining of both bores, plus construction of cross‑passages at regular intervals to meet high‑speed rail safety and evacuation standards. Attention now shifts to track, overhead line and systems installation, where tight tolerances on slab track geometry and aerodynamic performance in a long, twin‑bore configuration will drive detailed design and commissioning.

Innovation in construction is portrayed as less about novel technology and more about closing the execution gap between leadership’s “we want innovation” rhetoric and project teams’ day‑to‑day delivery constraints. Examples include contractors struggling to move from pilot trials of digital twins and 4D BIM on single bridge or station jobs to portfolio‑wide deployment, and clients not adapting NEC contract risk allocations to support offsite manufacture or low‑carbon concrete. For engineers, the message is to focus on procurement models, incentives and site workflows that let proven tools scale beyond isolated demonstrations.

Bringing climate readiness into practice is framed around Westminster’s first National Emergency Briefing on the climate and nature crisis, where infrastructure leaders were urged to treat 1.5°C overshoot, compound flooding and heat stress as near-term design conditions rather than distant scenarios. Discussion focused on embedding climate risk into asset management plans, revising design standards for bridges, rail corridors and drainage to cope with more frequent exceedance events, and accelerating nature-based solutions alongside hard defences. For engineers, the message is to prioritise adaptive pathways, stress-testing of critical networks and cross-sector emergency planning.

BP and Equinor have placed a £5M order for about 7,000t of steel from a Chinese supplier for the Net Zero Teesside carbon capture and storage project, drawing strong criticism from industry body UK Steel. The contract covers structural steel for key CCS infrastructure on Teesside, rather than sourcing from UK mills such as those at Port Talbot or Scunthorpe. The move raises concerns over domestic capacity utilisation, embedded carbon in imported steel, and procurement policy on major UK low‑carbon projects.

Volunteering with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is being promoted as a route for practitioners to grow their careers, expand professional networks and share technical expertise with the wider industry. Roles typically range from membership and professional review panels to regional committee work and STEM outreach, drawing on experience in areas such as geotechnical design, temporary works, asset management and digital delivery. For engineers, the key benefits are structured CPD, direct influence on professional standards and access to senior peers across disciplines and regions.

The Institution of Civil Engineers’ Research and Development Enabling Fund is backing early-stage ideas in areas such as sustainability, safety and construction efficiency that are not yet ready for conventional commercial or government funding. Typical projects include novel low-carbon materials, improved temporary works methods and digital tools for asset monitoring, with support aimed at de-risking concepts to the point where they can attract larger grants or private investment. For practitioners, the fund offers a route to test innovative design approaches, site techniques or data-driven maintenance strategies using modest, targeted R&D finance.

The UK’s 10-year infrastructure strategy, new industrial strategy and refreshed national pipeline set out a major ramp-up in public works, but delivery is being constrained by planning delays, skills shortages and fragmented procurement. ICE’s Lighthouse initiative focuses on practical fixes such as standardising design components across road and rail projects, accelerating Development Consent Order decisions, and using alliancing contracts to cut interface risk on complex multi-phase schemes. For engineers, the message is to design for repeatability, plan early for consenting and utilities, and structure contracts to manage long supply chains.