Transport Scotland awards £230m deals as suspension lifted
Transport Scotland has awarded two trunk road maintenance contracts, worth an estimated £230 million total, following a successful bid to have a court suspension lifted.
A Balfour Beatty/ Mouchel joint venture has been given a £125 million deal to manage and maintain major trunk roads in the South-west of Scotland following a successful bid to have a suspension overthrown.
Amey has challenged the decision to award the North West deal to Bear Scotland, after the Scottish procurement agency rejected its bid, which included works priced at 1p, as “unusually low”.
However Transport Scotland had sought to have the suspension lifted so that it can ensure its timetable of the new operators taking contol by April 2013 can be acheieved.
Bear Scotland, the Ringway, Babtie Jacobs and Breedon Aggregates (formerly Ennstone) joint venture, will be responsible for trunk roads in the North West under a £105m deal.
Scotland TranServ has been awarded the five-year contract for the South West which will commence on 1 April 2013 and has extension options of up to five further years. It will be worth around £25 million annually.
The South West region covers an area stretching from Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway to Alexandria in Strathclyde. It includes 681 kilometres of roads and 1,912 structures.
Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “We are confident these bids will continue to deliver both a high quality and value for money trunk road maintenance service. Procurement for the East contracts got underway last Friday and we look forward to receiving keen interest from the market.”
Both operating companies will be responsible for inspecting the trunk roads to ensure the routes remain safe and well maintained.
General maintenance activities such as salting and snow clearing; grass cutting and weed control; gully cleaning and the repair of street lighting and traffic signals will also come under their remit.
These contracts come into effect from 1 April 2013 with BEAR and Transerv beginning their mobilisation period immediately to ensure a smooth handover.
Balfour Beatty chief executive, Ian Tyler said: “We are delighted to have been selected by the Scottish Ministers to deliver this contract to maintain roads on routes vital to the country’s economy.
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with Transport Scotland, building on our successes and bringing innovative and efficient approaches to improving trunk road maintenance.”