Carillion was in joint venture with the duo on the £550m contract, which they are obliged to complete.

The current estimate of the extra cash contribution outstanding from Carillion to complete the project is £60-80m, of which any shortfall will be funded equally between Balfour and Galliford.

Both firms said they were discussing the position urgently with the Official Receiver of Carillion and Transport Scotland, to minimise any impact on the project.

Balfour Balfour, which was also working with Carillion on the £1.4bn A14 in Cambridgeshire and the £200m M60 Junction 8 to M62 Junction 20 scheme, estimated its cash hit would be in the range of £35m-£45m in 2018.

This morning Balfour issued a statement saying it would continue to work with its customers and would meet its contractual commitments.

Balfour said the profit impact of Carillion’s compulsory liquidation would be recorded as an exceptional non-underlying charge in the income statement.

Both Balfour Beatty and Galliford Try added that they did not have any other material financial exposure to Carillion.