Tees Valley's combined authority has submitted a five-year transport wish-list to the Department for Transport and is now asking construction firms how the potential work should be packaged up for the market.
The programme would run from April 2027 to March 2032 and covers major road schemes, railway upgrades, bus infrastructure, active travel and transport technology. Central government has already confirmed £978m of core transport funding for the region, but the wider list reaches past that settlement: several schemes still need further business case approvals and additional financial backing. The pipeline therefore mixes work covered by the confirmed funding with projects that remain conditional.
Schemes in the pipeline
The headline projects named in the submission are:
- the Darlington Northern Link Road;
- upgrades to the A66 and A689 corridors;
- a new platform at Middlesbrough Station and the redevelopment of Thornaby Station;
- a new station at Teesside International Airport;
- improvements to Middlesbrough bus station;
- transport links serving the Teesworks development.
Funding remains the constraint
The authority accepts that delivering the full programme will depend on government support and potentially further outside funding. Steve Harker, the combined authority's cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, said devolution did not remove the need for significant extra money on major transport schemes. Government backing, he argued, is vital because it would allow external bodies to help fund the programme, giving the region the best chance of delivering as many projects as possible in good time.
Contracts split, alliance considered
Despite the funding uncertainty, the authority is pressing on with early supplier engagement to prepare its procurement strategy. It expects to let multiple contracts covering highways, rail, civil engineering and specialist infrastructure rather than award one oversized deal. It is also considering a programme-wide alliance using the FAC-1 Framework Alliance Contract model, which would bring delivery partners together and, in the authority's framing, encourage regional contractors and SMEs to take part. Both routes could widen the pool of bidders beyond the largest national contractors.
Individual schemes would move at different speeds, since those still awaiting business case approval cannot be let until that step is completed.
An initial supplier launch event took place on 9 November. Firms are now invited to respond to a market engagement questionnaire, with feedback due by 1 March 2027.
For contractors, the timing matters because the authority is still deciding how the work will be divided. Responses submitted before that March 2027 deadline would feed into a procurement strategy that has yet to be finalised, and the authority has invited firms to register an interest.