Search underway for £24m West Midlands Interchange contractor
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is looking for a design and build contractor to deliver the £24M Dudley Interchange for buses and trams.
The project’s full business case has been given approval by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), and tendering can now begin.
Images of the bus and tram interchange were first revealed in 2018. Built on the site of the existing bus station, the interchange forms a crucial part of the wider regeneration of Dudley town centre.
Work is expected start on site next February 2022 and be completed in 2023.
The closing date for bids is 4 June.
The interchange will link to the £450M new Metro tram extension currently under construction by the Midland Metro Alliance between Wednesbury and Brierley Hill.
The Metro extension will join Dudley to the new High Speed 2 hub at Curzon Street in Birmingham. The full extension to the West Midlands Metro network is set to cost £1.5bn in total, and is set to open in 2023.
Work is also underway to rebuild both the University and Perry Barr railway stations in Birmingham ahead of next summer’s Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
TfWM is leading both projects. Updated plans for the redevelopment of the station were submitted to Birmingham City Council in December, after the original designs were compared to a shoebox, a Nintendo console and a drive-thru Starbucks by unimpressed railway engineers and local politicians.
