Two new maintenance contracts worth a combined £230m came into force this week.
Transport Scotland’s 4th Generation (4G) contracts will see BEAR Scotland and Scotland Transerv undertake maintenance for north west and south west units respectively.
Both contracts run for five years with scope for extending for a further five years.
Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “Scotland’s motorway and A class roads are fundamental to the economic well-being of the nation. They connect cities and towns; commuters and workplaces; business and customers.
“That is why we must strive to provide well maintained roads network with reduced congestion and reliable journey times. These contracts are central to that vision by providing high quality and value for money trunk road maintenance service.
“They also contribute to the economy in their own right by directly supporting around 500 operational and professional jobs and through the wider supply chain, with local firms benefiting on a regular basis.
“Procurement is also now underway for the East contracts and we expect the contracts to start in April 2014.”
Brian Gordon, BEAR Scotland managing director said: “We are looking forward to taking on responsibility for managing and maintaining the trunk roads in the North West of Scotland again.
"We are committed to delivering a high quality service and have the experienced team, supply chain infrastructure and plant in place and ready to go.”
Russell Rennie Contracts Director with Scotland TranServ said: "ScotlandTranServ are looking forward to continuing to provide the excellent service to the travelling public that they have been providing to the public on the North West contract.
"Our primary focus will be on safe journeys in all seasons, journey reliability and the safety of our workforce.
"We will be employing high calibre people and organisations, most of whom are located in the central belt. We will also continue to invest in the latest technology ensuring the network is well maintained and managed."
