Civils sector on the road to more new work

The Civils sector looks set for busier times in 2026 as work gets underway on a wide range of construction projects. 

A recent Glenigan analysis shows that civil engineering accounts for the largest share of the Top 100 projects due to start on site in 2026, with 29 projects worth a combined £23.8 billion.

The prospects for new work are also promising on smaller and medium-sized infrastructure schemes.

The latest Glenigan Construction Industry Forecast 2026-27 predicts that after falling back by 7% last year, the value of underlying (under £100 million) civil engineering starts is set to jump by 17% this year and by a further 15% in 2027.

Road and rail investment

Increased investment in the road and rail networks, growth in utilities investment – particularly electricity generation and distribution – and more capital spending by the water companies are all set to boost activity in the sector.

Highway-related work stands out as the most significant source of major new work opportunities. Work on the huge £10.2 billion tunnels and approaches work on the Lower Thames Crossing in Gravesend, Kent, is set to get underway this autumn. Bouygues Travaux Publics and J Murphy are the civil contractors on the project, where work is set to run for 79 months (Project ID: 91161081).

Other major highways projects in the pipeline include a second section of the A5 Western Transport Corridor involving a new 86km dual carriageway from Derry to Tyrone in Northern Ireland (Project ID: 08492109).

Trunk road improvements in England set to start early in 2026, include the £153 million A47/A11 Thickthorn junction upgrade near Norwich (Project ID: 14432363).

And in the capital, a £1.25 billion public highways and public realm contract in Westminster will start this autumn running until 2039 (Project ID: 25089949).

Meanwhile in Scotland, work is set to start early this year on the £29.9 million A96 Inverness to Nairn dualling for Transport Scotland (Project ID: 14308213).

Utilities work should provide a rich source of new work opportunities for civils contractors in the new year.

Network Rail is set to start its £1 billion Project Reach digital connectivity rollout in London early in 2026 (Project ID: 21190978).

The rail infrastructure group is also set to start work over the coming spring & summer on The MetroWest Phase 1, a £152 million project to re-open the Portishead rail line on the Severn Beach and Bath to Bristol lines (Project ID:17002223).

Generating electricity work

The National Grid will also be a significant client for the civils sector in the year ahead as work gathers pace to expand and reinforce the electricity generation network.

As part of The Great Grid Upgrade, the utility is set to start on the main construction of the £363 million Bramford to Twinstead Project in Suffolk this spring. It involves around 18 km of new overhead transmission line to reinforce the network to serve Sizewell C, (Project ID: 10524764).

The water companies are also set to boost their capex as the extra spending agreed for the AMP 8 period for 2025-2030 – under which investment roughly doubles to £104 billion – starts to materialise.

In March, Thames Water is due to appoint contractors to its £5 billion Major Projects Framework AMP8/9 which will cover upgrades and delivery of water and wastewater projects across London and the South East and will run for 49 months (Project ID: 25437009).

Meanwhile Anglian Water is due to award a contract on its five-year £1.8 billion Major Infrastructure Delivery Framework this summer. The first work packages will involve coastal water improvement schemes, storage systems and process technology (Project ID: 25596822).