This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Trunk road maintenance contracts
26/04/2005
The firms selected to bid for contracts for the
management and maintenance of the trunk road network in
northwest and southwest Scotland were announced today.
New operating companies will be selected to manage and
maintain the trunk roads and motorways in two of four units
that make up the network in Scotland - the North West Unit
and South West Unit.
The tender lists in the current competition are:
North West Unit
- Scotland TranServ (Balfour Beatty and Mouchel
Parkman joint venture)
- BEAR Scotland Ltd
South West Unit
- Amey Infrastructure Services Ltd
- Nuttall WSP (Edmund Nuttall Ltd and WSP Consultants
Ltd joint venture)
The contracts are being competitively tendered, and will
be awarded this Autumn. The successful bidders will begin
operations in Spring 2006 when the current contracts
end.
Transport Minister Nicol Stephen said:
"These contracts are an evolution of the current
arrangements and underline our commitment to make the best
use of the trunk road network in terms of customer service,
value for money and innovative roads management.
"Substantial funding is invested annually in the
maintenance and improvement of the network, and service
providers are therefore required to deliver the high
standards through effective management and deployment of
the necessary resources.
"Service levels have been carefully reviewed for the new
contracts and, where appropriate, improved to accommodate
the changing expectations of how Scottish trunk roads
should be managed.
"It is therefore entirely appropriate that stricter
requirements for winter and landscaping maintenance are
introduced."
Improved service levels will be included in the new
contracts for better winter and landscape maintenance.
Winter maintenance:
- use of pre-wetted salt
- no barriers to joint working with councils
- required to snow plough concurrently at least two
lanes on multi lane roads
- tightened requirements on salting to err on the
side of caution
- reviewed winter patrol routes to ensure they are
provided where they bring the most benefits
Landscape maintenance (grass cutting frequencies):
- High (14 cuts) - within 30 mph areas in cities
towns and villages
- Medium (6 cuts) - within 40 mph areas in cities
town and villages and major roundabouts.
- Low (3 cuts) - general verges
- Minimal - larger rural areas of grass
At present, the network is managed and maintained by
BEAR Scotland Ltd (North West Unit and North East Unit) and
Amey Infrastructure Services Ltd (South West Unit and South
East Unit), who were awarded the contract in February 2001
following a tender competition. The current contracts are
for a period of five years although this can be extended by
a maximum of two years.
The new contracts will also be for five years with the
option of extension by up to two years at the sole
discretion of the Ministers. Projected annual turnover for
each contract will be between £17m to £48m at current
prices.