KierWSP has won an extension to its Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) contract in a deal worth between £92m and £120m for an initial 16-months with the option of a further nine.
KierWSP has worked on the contract for the past 12 years and under the new agreement will continue to provide highways network infrastructure maintenance and management services, traffic signalisation and intelligent transport services, county structures maintenance and regulatory functions.
The joint venture's general manager, Debbie Taylor-Bond, commented: 'The work we have been doing across Northamptonshire has helped us to understand and prioritise the needs of the local residents and businesses.
'We look forward to developing the partnership with NCC even more to deliver more efficient and effective services to customers across the region.
'We have a very interesting time ahead of us now, in so many ways, but our focus following now is to ensure Northamptonshire Highways is ready for when Northamptonshire moves to the Unitary arrangement in 2021.'
Cllr Jason Smithers, county council cabinet member for environment and place said: 'Together we are committed to maintaining and improving the highways network in Northamptonshire. We know how important roads are to county residents so we will continue to push forward initiatives, such as the recent steps taken to boost pothole repairs by agreeing to purchase two new thermal road repair machines– which can each triple the repair rate of conventional methods – and a Roadmaster jet patching machine.'
Northamptonshire has struggled with enormous financial difficulties in recent years and Highways understands a contract extension was always the most likely option in part to save cash on a major procurement process.
Following years of austerity, the highways service at the council has come under criticism from the council's own scrutiny process but is working to establish improvements.
