Cross Tay Link Road, Scotland, UK

Perth & Kinross Council in Scotland has successfully delivered the second and largest phase of its Perth Transport Futures Project using NEC. The £150 million Cross Tay Link Road was completed on time and within budget under an NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) Option C (target contract with activity schedule) in March 2025. It won the Project Excellence and Innovation Award in the 2025 Martin Barnes Awards.

Contractor BAM UK & Ireland started the main works on site in September 2022 following a 12 month early contractor involvement (ECI) stage with their designers Arup and Fairhurst. The Council acted as NEC project manager with design support from Sweco, which was engaged under an NEC3 Professional Services Contract (PSC).

The contract involved building the New Kingsway, a 6 km single carriageway which links the A9, A93 and A94 roads on the north side of Perth. The main structure, Destiny Bridge, is a 307 m long three-span concrete crossing over the River Tay and Highland mainline railway. It is founded on 85 piles and the deck was built using the balanced cantilever method. The works included constructing a new gradeseparated junction on the A9 dual carriageway, realigning 2 km of the A9 south of the new junction, building a 27 m long Green Bridge for people and animals at Highfield Plantation near Scone, creating and upgrading 12 km of paths, and planting over 100,000 native trees. The project has increased the city’s road network capacity, reduced traffic congestion and pollution, and enhanced pedestrian and cycle safety.

The £38 million first phase of the Perth Transport Figures Project, a new A9/A85 junction and link road to Bertha Park development, was delivered in 2019 using NEC3. The third phase, the 1.5 km Bertha Park Link Road, will connect the first and second phases, while the fourth and final phase will reallocate city centre space to green travel modes to reduce car use. Both phases will be procured using NEC4 contracts, with ECC Option A for the Bertha Park Link Road.

Perth & Kinross Council was voted runner-up for Client of the Year Award in the 2025 Martin Barnes Awards.

Ensuring legacy benefits

Perth & Kinross roads infrastructure manager Jillian Ferguson says the Council’s net zero and sustainability objectives were at the heart of the Cross Tay Link Road contract from the start. ‘These objectives have driven innovation and positive behaviours to deliver the NEC contract scope while maximising legacy benefits.’

She says the procurement process started with an open invitation event for tier 1 contractors and their design consultants to determine what type of NEC contract was most attractive to them. ‘During the tender process, the ECC Option C was issued in draft, inviting bidders to comment. Where possible, these comments were considered in the final version.’

Ferguson says secondary option X22 on ECI was innovatively adapted so that a fixed price could be provided at tender while also providing a one-year ECI stage. ‘This was for the client and contractor to work collaboratively during the detailed design and advance works to ensure our legacy requirements and carbon reduction targets could be achieved.’

She says the procurement method used has since been described by industry experts as ‘optimal ECI’. ‘We have been asked to advise other government NEC users on our approach, helping them move away from risk-averse practices which are having a negative effect on construction market interest.’

Successful outcome

Ferguson says the contract was a huge success. ‘ECC Option C achieved the correct balance by providing cost certainty to a public body making a significant investment and fairly allocating risk between the client and contractor.’

She says the project came in on time and within budget. ‘The gain shared through Option C was around £875,000 in the final account, which was agreed within two weeks of completion. Furthermore, the completion date did not move throughout the duration of the works. This is testament to both the client and contractor working positively together to manage risk, in line with the NEC requirement to “act in a spirit of mutual trust and co-operation”.’ Ferguson adds that the current estimated social and economic value is over £50 million. ‘This was achieved through a variety of community benefits driven by NEC option X20 key performance indicators and other contract strategies. These included local spend, use of small and medium enterprises, local education and training initiatives, charity work and community projects.’

Benefits of using NEC

• NEC was able to be drafted in consultation with bidders, ensuring it was both attractive to industry and aligned with client’s sustainability objectives.
• Option X22 on ECI was able to be adapted to provide a fixed priced at tender with one-year ECI to ensure legacy requirements and carbon reduction targets were achieved.
• NEC provided cost certainty to the client and fairly allocated risk between the client and contractor.
• ECC Option C pain/gain share incentivised both parties to complete the contract on time and budget, resulting in a gain share of £875,000.
• Completion date did not change throughout contract, and final account was agreed within two weeks of completion.
• Option X20 on key performance indicators helped ensure that legacy benefits were delivered.