SPIE awarded Kingsway Tunnel upgrade project

SPIE UK has been awarded a £6.4 million contract to carry out a lighting and infrastructure upgrade project in the Kingsway Tunnel.

The contract consists of the design, build and installation of new high and low voltage distribution systems as well as new LED high-level tunnel lighting.

Kingsway Tunnel, otherwise known as the Wallasey Tunnel, is a 1.5 mile toll road tunnel under the River Mersey between Liverpool and Wallasey, carrying 45,000 vehicles a day, or 16.4 million per year.
The contract, which has been awarded to SPIE’s Industrial Services North West team, requires that the tunnel’s existing HV and LV distribution systems and lighting are retained whilst the new installation takes place. Once the new system and LED lighting are installed and commissioned the old equipment can be decommissioned. Work began on-site in May and is expected to be completed by August 2017.

Steven Nanda, industrial services managing director at SPIE UK, said: “This is a wonderful project for our Industrial Services team, one which will allow them to make use of their great range of skills and experience, and which we are proud to add to our growing tunnel portfolio. At more than 45 years old, Kingsway is an iconic structure and we are delighted to be involved in its upgrade.”

Shane Fitzpatrick, Merseytravel senior head of service operations, added: “This is a substantial project which was awarded to SPIE following a competitive tendering process. We are confident that their proven experience in tunnel installation and pre-planning work undertaken will result in minimal disruption for our patrons and the continued smooth-moving of the traffic between Liverpool and Wallasey during the 15-month project.”