M25 Widening DBFO –


Initial Upgraded Sections BIM underpins the success of Atkins’ work on the M25 upgrade


Atkins used BIM to deliver millions of pounds of efficiencies during the upgrade of the M25 London orbital motorway. Work to widen the road was carried out within the context of challenging time and site constraints in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.


The initial upgrade sections, together with the refurbishment of the A1(M) Hatfield Tunnel, were let as part of the M25 design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) contract for the maintenance and upgrading of the M25 and associated trunk road links, as a 30 year concession. Following the contract award, Connect Plus began the widening with section 1 (J16 to J23) in the north west quadrant and section 4 (J27 to J30) in the north east. The combined length of these sections


is 64km. Client


Contract Value Duration


Skanska Balfour Beatty JV (SBBJV) circa £850 million 39 months


Completion date June 2012 What We Did


Atkins’ expertise has helped to ease congestion on one of Europe’s busiest highways. Large sections of the M25 London orbital motorway were upgraded from three lanes in each direction to four, in the hope of moving people around the Capital quicker. Atkins was appointed by the Skanska Balfour Beatty joint venture (SBBJV) to carry out the design. Its work was driven by an immovable deadline - the project had to be completed before London was host to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.


Atkins and SBBJV were awarded an Autodesk BIM Experience Award for this work.


Atkins’ approach was determined by the physical constraints of the site. There was no additional land for the upgrade - all work had to take place within the existing boundaries. This meant Atkins and SBBJV would need to fit far more infrastructure into the highly constrained verges between the new lanes and retaining walls. And all disciplines would need to work within the same space.


The team introduced BIM to help it develop and share interactive 3D models of all above and below ground infrastructure, and associated project and asset information. There are currently no international or national BIM standards for geometry and data that are adequate for civil infrastructure. As a result, Atkins created the standards, automated software tools, methods and objects needed to deliver safely, on time and within budget.


14 | BIM Collaborating for success


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