A £52m dispute over repair works at the Thelwall Viaduct has landed engineering services company Amec Civil Engineering Ltd in the Court of Appeal.
Amec claims that an arbitrator brought in by the Department of Transport does not have jurisdiction to determine a £52m damages claim against the engineer for alleged negligence in carrying out refurbishment works at the viaduct in the mid-1990s.
The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision as to the arbitrator’s jurisdiction, and is expected to give it in writing later this term.
Amec completed a road building and renovation project at the 1.4km long viaduct, which carries the M6 motorway over the Manchester ship canal and the river Mersey near Warrington, in December 1996.
However, in June 2002, the Highway Authority, as agent for the Department of Transport, became aware of defects in the works, including cracks in the metal roller bearings supporting the bridge beams.
In 2003, it contracted John Martin Construction and consultant Atkins to carry out £52m of repair works, including the replacement of 150 roller bearings with spherical slider bearings and the strengthening of the deck steelwork on the viaduct.
John Martin and Atkins hope to complete the repairs in the spring of 2005. In the interim, the Court of Appeal will decide who has jurisdiction to determine the Transport Department’s claims against Amec.
Amec Civil Engineering Ltd v Secretary of State for Transport Court of Appeal (May, Rix and Hooper LJJ) 7 February 2005.
Vivian Ramsey QC and Simon Hughes (instructed by Wragge & Co, of Birmingham) appeared for the appellant; John Marrin QC and Sarah Hannaford (instructed by the solicitor to the Department of Transport) appeared for the respondent.
References: EGi Legal News 09/02/2005
