Oxpens River Bridge Steel Material Procurement

The proposed Oxpens river bridge is an architecturally designed long box span bridge with 'arch edge beams' formed by SHS sections with vertical stiffeners to create wave sections. The complex nature of fabrication, transportation and installation of this structure has required significant and continuous input from the specialist contractor throughout the detailed design phase.

Briton were sub-contracted by the original contractor for the design of the bridge, however the contractor has decided not to continue with the construction phase of the project, whereby a procurement under a Framework for a new contractor is underway.

The construction phase of the project is limited by restrictions imposed by the Environment Agent and high risk of seasonal flooding. The window to install the main span is September 2026. To achieve this programme a steel order must be placed in mid-January 2026. The authority intends to procure the steel directly should a main contract not be awarded by mid-January to achieve the overall construction programme.

As Briton prepared the designs for the project and own the copyright over them, they are required to calculate the amount of steel required based on the designs, the Council is unable to order the steel directly and would have to expend considerable additional costs for work already carried out in respect of further designs by another supplier, to be able to procure the steel required for the project. Otherwise, the Council could receive an incompatible amount of steel goods which would result in severely disproportionate difficulty in the operation of building the bridge. The Council could not have foreseen that Balfour Beatty would withdraw from the project but as a result, the Council needs to procure Britons to calculate and order the steel required for the project based on their existing designs to continue with the project under the new contractor.

Therefore Oxford City Council are switching to a direct award to Briton under section 7 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023: Additional or repeat goods, services or works

7 The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier which are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of, existing goods, services or works in circumstances where-

(a)a change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods, services or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services or works, and

(b)the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance.