A joint venture of Sir Robert McAlpine with consultant Scott Wilson, as well as bids from Balfour Beatty and Atkins are competing to be part of the Managing Agent Contractor (MAC) Area 14 scheme.

The Area 14 MAC covers motorways and A-roads in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and North Yorkshire and the Highways Agency has estimated that the contract could be worth up to £40m a year over an initial five-year period.

But depending on the performance of the winning contractor, the contract is likely to be extended to a total of eight years in one-yearly increments.

The winner of the contest is expected to ben announced in early 2010, with work on site due to kick off at the beginning of July 2010 for completion by the end of June 2015.