A-one+ starts work on HE contract in Kent and Sussex

A-one+ has started work on a Highways England contract that is worth up to £70 million per year in Kent and Sussex.

The five-year maintenance and response contract, which is worth worth between £55m and £70m per year, is part of Highways England’s new delivery arrangements in the counties.

Since Tuesday 7 June, A-one+ has been delivering routine highway maintenance services, emergency incident response and severe weather services, as well as renewal and small scale improvement projects, on roads in Kent and Sussex. The roads include the A21, M2 and M20 in Kent as well as the A23, A27 and M23 in Sussex.

The new arrangement with A-one+ will focus more on long-term effective maintenance and development of the highways assets. Highways England say it will provide a platform to drive innovation, efficiencies and savings, such as requiring the company to combine routine maintenance works with projects to minimise the impact on the travelling public and deliver better value for money.

Highways England divisional director for the south east, Simon Jones, said: “This new contract allows us to build upon our commitments to our customers in Kent and Sussex. We want to ensure that safety remains our top priority, that we keep our network in a good, safe and reliable condition, and to put our customers at the heart of our work. I am looking forward to working with A-one+ in providing a first class service.”

A-one+ is a shared joint venture between CH2M, Colas and Costain. Managing director Clive Leadbetter added: “I am delighted that A-one+ has been selected by Highways England to support their delivery plans in Area 4 to meet the aims and objectives of their procurement strategy. Our expertise and ability to create innovative solutions in safety, customer experience and asset management has been and will continue to be of huge importance in future proofing our strategic road network.”

The contract covers a total route length of 280 miles and has 845 structures, including 497 bridges or large culverts and two tunnels.