Transport for London has started the hunt for firms to handle highways maintenance across the capital.This time round the transport agency has plumped for an eight-year framework agreement, rather than five years, and split London into four key areas, which will each be run by a single firm.The extended term acknowledges large start up costs in plant and systems.TfL said that having consulted with the trade association and several contractors it was determined that eight years was the optimum period to achieve best value.Between £746m and £1.8bn will be spent on maintaining 580km of the capital’s highways over the period.The work includes traditional road maintenance activity including maintenance of street lighting, traffic lights, street cleaning and professional inspection of assets.

    TfL framework areas

     Lot 1: North east (£120m-£360m)London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Enfield, Haringey, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Waltham ForestLot 2:North west (£135m-£300m)London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, HounslowLot3: Central (£270m-£570m)London Boroughs of Camden, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster, and the City of LondonLot 4: South (£220m-£580m)London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston upon Thames, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton.
Interested firms have until 8 November to complete PQQs.To express an interest in the tender race, firms need to register on the TfL e-tendering portal: https://tfl.gov.uk/eprocurement.