HA eyes roads link-up with local authorities

The Highways Agency (HA) is looking at ways to align its future major roads projects with similar local authority schemes.

This marks a further step on from the HA looking to procure a combined maintenance contract with local authorities (CJ 31 March 2005).

Details of the revolutionary move were unveiled at a meeting of the Highways Efficiency Liaison Group (HELG) – set up to help push through the changes of the Gershon Review across local government – with the help of the HA and the industry.

Steve Rowsell, HELG’s chairman and procurement director at the HA, said: “We are currently looking at our forward programme for major projects and how it will align itself with regional schemes and how the two could work together.

“It is still in the very early stages, and the possibility of working together will depend on what regional priorities have been put forward by local authorities.”

It is understood that transport secretary Alistair Darling has now received all of these prioritised schemes from the regions and his decision on what schemes go forward is expected before April.

One example of how the new idea would work in practice is on the A1 Dishforth to Barton bypass scheme, which involves the construction of a council-run road over the HA’s proposed bypass scheme. The contract has yet to be awarded and is going through statutory procedures.

“If we do both the works together, the contracts will be delivered quicker and more efficiently,” said Anne Stanford, team leader for the HA’s efficiency and collaboration team. “Having the two groups working together from the outset has obvious benefits.”

However, Rowsell was quick to point out that the delivery and funding of the schemes would still lie in the hands of the relevant parties and was not about the HA taking over council roads.

However, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the same contractor could be used to deliver both schemes in the future, an approach which could result
in larger and more substantial contracts taking shape.

On the likelihood of a future combined maintenance contract, Rowsell said that a lot of work had already been done on the ground.

“We did look at the option of a shared contract on Area 1, but it came along too soon,” he said. “We are now starting negotiations with authorities around the Area 10 region, which will be the only new MAC [Managing Agent Contractor] contract to be tendered this year. However, again this might be too soon.”

Rowsell was more hopeful that a combined maintenance contract would come into fruition in
the next three MAC Areas to tendered. These are Areas 3, 6 and 8.