Four fight for Gloucestershire roads contract

Four groups should know before the month is out which of them has won Gloucestershire County Council's highways maintenance deal, potentially worth 300m.

Biting their nails are Alun Griffiths/Owen Williams; Amscott (Alfred McAlpine/Scott Wilson); Atkins; and the incumbent Ringway/Halcrow.

The deal, worth 30m a year, will initially run for five years, but potentially up to a maximum of 10 years depending on the outcome of performance reviews.

The contract, which kicks in next April, will cover around 5,000km of local authority roads.

An insider said: "It's not just the contract itself, but the spin-off the winning contractor can get from it - such as road diversions and extensions."