Chester bus station contract goes to Graham
Cheshire West & Chester Council selected Graham Construction to build Chester’s £13.5m bus interchange.
Graham will work alongside scheme architect Austin-Smith:Lord, transport engineer Mott MacDonald and council officers. Work is expected to begin in mid-September.
The new facility is due to open in early 2017, enabling the closure of the existing bus interchange at Princess Street and paving the way for work to commence on the £300m Northgate development.
Austin-Smith:Lord is the architect
Cllr Brian Clarke, council chairman of economy and infrastructure, said: “We look forward to working in partnership with Graham Construction to deliver a first class, modern transport facility that will improve the experience of bus users and encourage more people to take advantage of public transport. The new interchange at Gorse Stacks will bring about a major improvement in the quality of Chester’s offer for residents and visitors alike.”
Graham Construction’s transport track record includes a bus and rail interchange in Bangor and a new control centre at Dublin Airport.
Gary Hughes, regional director of Graham Construction, said: “This is a high-quality scheme and we look forward to working with the council and project partners to deliver a new bus interchange for the city of Chester.
“Graham continues to grow in the North of England with a strong pipeline of work. We are fast becoming recognised as a collaborative and forward-thinking contractor which delivers first-class projects on time and within budget.”
Details will shortly be confirmed of the closure of Gorse Stacks car park to allow enabling works on utility diversions to commence ahead of construction.
The loss of the 168 short stay parking spaces at Gorse Stacks will be more than offset by the new council-owned underground car park at Delamere Street which provides 351 spaces.
The bus interchange and associated public realm work improvements around Gorse Stacks are being financially supported by the Government’s Local Growth Fund which is administered by the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership.
