M6 Extension - Carlisle to Guards Mill

Carillion is helping to protect a site of national and international nature conservation importance while building a new motorway between Carlisle and Guardsmill.

We’re working with the Highways Agency and design partners Capita Symonds to upgrade 9km of the A74 dual carriageway to a three-lane motorway, under a £120.7m contract that will complete the motorway network from London to Glasgow.

The scheme requires the construction of a new bridge crossing the River Esk, just upstream of the upper Solway Flats and Marshes, which are home to a number of protected species.

Careful planning and public consultation has resulted in a sensitively handled project, which is now well underway. Reptile translocation and site clearance are both advanced, pond creation has commenced and most of the fencing is in place. The scheme is scheduled for completion in December 2008.