Contract worth £297m for road upgrade cancelled

National Highways has confirmed a contract valued at £297m to upgrade a stretch of the A46 in Nottinghamshire has been cancelled.

The A46 Newark Bypass scheme - which comprises of widening 6.5km (4 miles) of the existing single carriageway to a dual carriageway, between Farndon and Winthorpe - was approved by the government in October 2025.

On Monday, construction and development company Skanska said the contract with National Highways worth £297m had been cancelled.

A spokesperson for National Highways said it thanked Skanska for their "valuable contribution in progressing the project" and the next step for the body would be to procure the main construction works for the scheme.

The project also includes a new flyover at the Cattle Market junction, a new bridge over the A1 and the widening of roundabouts at Farndon and Winthorpe.

National Highways said in partnership with Skanska, the A46 Newark Bypass project design had been completed, with the development consent order granted by the Secretary of State for Transport in October.

A National Highways spokesperson said: "We thank Skanska for their valuable contribution in progressing the project and continue to work with them on other schemes currently in construction."

Documents published by the Department for Transport in March state construction of the scheme would begin in the road investment period which runs between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2031.

Robert Jenrick, Reform MP for Newark, said he was "deeply concerned" about the cancellation of the contract and had written to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.

Sam Smith, leader of the Conservative group at Reform UK run Nottinghamshire County Council, said he had written to National Highways to demand a new contractor was appointed "as soon as possible" and for the body to provide an updated schedule for when works would begin.

"Residents have waited far too long for these improvements and were expecting construction to commence imminently," the letter said.

The councillor for Newark East added the cancellation of the construction contract risked "years of further delay" to the scheme.

The Department for Transport said it was a matter for National Highways, which said it was unable to provide further detail at the moment.

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