National Highways has awarded an eight-year £328m roads maintenance and response contract to Colas Ltd.

Starting with effect from 1 July 2022, the £328m contract covers the strategic road network within Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire as well as parts of Gloucestershire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

Across a total lane length of around 3,760 km of motorway and trunk roads, Colas will deliver cyclical maintenance, reactive maintenance, incident response, severe weather response and minor works in a region that has five strategically critical motorway interchange junctions, as well as being at the heart of the new HS2 network and where Colas has a long-established base.

Andrew Jinks, National Highways regional operations director for the Midlands, said: “Our roads are among the safest in the world and partnerships like this help to maintain the high standards that we set ourselves and our partners. By working more closely with our supply chain partners on routine maintenance, repairs and incident response, we’re able to work more effectively, identifying innovative ways of working and provide the best possible quality of service to road users.

“We’re delighted that Colas has been awarded this contract and look forward to working with them, driving improvement and strengthening our regional expertise.”

With a clear carbon reduction plan for the contract to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of operations from day one, and an established track record in delivering social value plans that are aligned to local strategic requirements, National Highways says that Colas brings strong local knowledge to the contract, supported by the Global Colas SA international expertise.

Carl Fergusson, CEO Colas Ltd, said “Everyone at Colas is delighted that we are continuing to build on our successful relationship with National Highways with this new, significant, contract award. We are looking forward to establishing a highly effective collaborative working relationship in Area 9 with National Highways and our supply chain partners as part of the contract, and in working towards the common goal of reducing carbon emissions to achieve net zero.”