Amey has now taken over responsibility for maintaining the trunk road network in the north east of Scotland, taking over from Bear Scotland, which is continuing in the north west.
Under a contract worth up to £540m, which will run for eight years with a potential to extend for a further four, Amey will deliver highways maintenance on the region’s motorways and trunk roads, design road safety schemes, and look after bridges and structures.
Other deliverables under the contract include an enhanced winter and incident response service, improvements to customer experience as well as the introduction of new technology for better asset management.
The Kessock Bridge remains in Bear Scotland's patch
Stewart Leggett, director of roads at Transport Scotland, said: ‘This contract will bring improved levels of service to the trunk road network in the north east of Scotland.
‘The upgraded resilience measures aim to ensure consistent, predictable and reliable journeys for road users. It also takes into account the Scottish Government’s climate change and sustainability targets.
‘This contract will deliver a high-quality trunk road maintenance service, support jobs and benefit local firms through the wider supply chain.’
Peter Anderson, managing director for transport infrastructure at Amey, added: ‘It’s fantastic to see our new highways team commence work in the north east of Scotland. This contract further strengthens our long-term relationship with Transport Scotland delivering critical infrastructure services, which improve journeys for local communities.’
Under the previous contracts, Bear Scotland had responsibility both the north east and north west contracts but procurement rules meant it could only hold on to a maximum of one in the north of the country.
In April Transport Scotland re-appointed BEAR Scotland as the Operating Company for 1,422km of trunk roads in the north west, with an eight-year contract also beginning this week with the option of a four-year extension.
Iain Murray, managing director of BEAR Scotland, said: ‘We have been proud custodians of the trunk roads in the North West of Scotland since 2013.
‘Retaining responsibility for the North West for potentially the next 12 years is a testament to the quality of work delivered by our teams. It demonstrates the ongoing strength and value of the services we provide.’
This week marks the start of the new Network Management Contract which sees BEAR retaining responsibility for managing the North West Trunk Road Unit on behalf of @transcotland. In the #NW, there are 1,501 bridges and structures, including Kessock Bridge and Skye Crossing. pic.twitter.com/mUuHVTWnEk
— BEAR NW Trunk Roads (@NWTrunkRoads) August 17, 2022
