Costain CH2M bags £300m roads contract

Costain CH2M has been selected as the preferred bidder for a £300m road maintanence contract by East Sussex county council

The seven year highway services contract commences on 1 Mat 2016 replacing the current arrangement which sees three separate contractors responsible for highways, street lighting and traffic signals.

The joint venture between Costain and CH2M will be responsible for maintaining the East Sussex highways network, including roads, pavements, drainage, street lights, traffic lights and structures.

It will also be tasked with providing winter gritting across the county and delivering highway improvement schemes.

The new deal includes a fixed price for routine maintenance activities such as grass cutting and gritting for the life of the contract, giving the council greater certainty over the cost of highway services for the next seven years.

Cllr Carl Maynard, East Sussex County Council lead member for transport and environment, said: “A well-maintained roads network is vital to the economic future of East Sussex.

“The new contract will bring everything from gritting to street lights under one provider, enabling us to provide a more unified, effective and efficient service.

“We were very impressed with the bid from Costain CH2M, who have a lot of experience with major infrastructure projects and highway maintenance and were able to offer a proposal which met all our needs and offered value for money for the taxpayer.

“One of the key things for us was their commitment to put customers at the heart of their service, to listen to and respond to the public, who have a valuable role to play in letting us know about any issues with our roads which need addressing.”

Darren James, Costain’s managing director, infrastructure, said: “Costain is delighted to have been selected with CH2M as preferred bidder by East Sussex County Council for their highways services contract. We look forward to building on our proven record for delivering highway services in collaborative teams.”

Peter McDermott, director of highways at CH2M, said: “CH2M is delighted to be working alongside Costain to deliver highways services for East Sussex County Council. Once completed this will play a major role in increasing accessibility and driving local growth in the area.”