TWO billion pounds is a lot of money in a recession and a public spending crisis. When belts are being tightened in business and in Whitehall, projects on that scale are being forced to justify every last penny.
In Sheffield and its surrounding towns, the huge overhaul of the highways is much needed. Steel City has become known as pothole city as roads from Stocksbridge, in the north, to the edge of Dronfield, in the south, have decayed. The problems have, i
n some cases, caused serious flash flooding, for example in the Lower Don Valley.
Sheffield City Council has won the money from government to transform and maintain the roads over a quarter-of-a-century, and three contenders have to complete detailed bids by December.
If Amey wins, it will be responsible for the largest private finance initiative (PFI) contract in the council's history. It includes 2,000km of road, 65,000 streetlights, more than 350 bridges and structures, 35,000 highway trees, 3,666km of footways, more than 2m sq m of urban grass verges and will mean improving about 85 per cent of the city's streetlights and up to 40 per cent of traffic signals during the first five to seven years.
In early 2011, the city council will name the preferred bidder for the contract. Consortia led by Carillion and by Colas are the rivals of Amey, which has been trading with Sheffield businesses for 23 years and hopes its ability to be a "one-stop shop", doing everything from the carriageway to street lighting, will mean it gets the job.
"The importance of this contract for Sheffield cannot be underestimated. It has the potential to have an immense impact on the city, not just over the next 25 years, but for generations to come," said Graeme Symonds, Amey project director for the Sheffield highways maintenance PFI.
The need for improvement will only increase, with the city's population, now estimated at 530,000 by the city council, projected to increase to 600,000 by 2027.
"We can take it from cradle to grave, but our competitors have to find a consortium because they are specialists in certain areas," Mr Symonds added.
He has worked on creating a similar, £2.7bn project in Birmingham, where Amey has been named the preferred supplier – although Mr Symonds emphasises the firm has to "get under the skin of Sheffield" rather than merely importing the techniques used in Britain's second city – with the project due to start in April and run for 25 years.
In light of that, and the controversy surrounding PFI projects – with unions claiming that public service is replaced by the private sector's pursuit of profit – Amey has pledged to use the local staff who are already in post. Six hundred workers at Street Force, the city council body which provides highways services, can be certain of employment, Mr Symonds said.
"There is always a fear that big companies will come in and cut jobs, but we want local people developing local services. The amount of support we need to develop a programme of this scale and the amount of support we need from SMEs and large firms is huge. It is a fantastic opportunity for the supply chain."
And, he is at pains to add, the PFI provider bears the risk. "If you do something that goes wrong, then it is up to us to put it right and the taxpayer will not be put at risk – that is a fundamental part of it."
The £2bn has been secured and by the time it starts to filter through the supply chain in 2011, all but the gloomiest forecasters expect Britain to have moved out of recession.
Sheffield might not have suffered the eye-catching insolvencies and cancellations of building projects that Leeds has, but there is no doubt it has suffered. Small firms around the country are finding life difficult, and in South Yorkshire they will be hit, if they haven't already, by the cut in the size of operations at Corus's steelworks in Sheffield and Rotherham.
As such, the importance of the highways project will be felt beyond simply those working in highways, infrastructure or
construction. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the Government is counting on the ripple effect of major infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy.
This might be good news for people living and working in Sheffield, but what about the other ripples of such a transformational scheme – disruption, noise, delays and the cost to the environment?
Most people would want to see their city improved, but not by having their road dug up for months on end.
Mr Symonds is realistic, accepting that life will be more complex for motorists for a while but saying Amey has already planned how to mitigate this – for example, it says it will never work on parallel streets at the same time.
"You cannot develop a programme of this scale without some sort of disruption (but] we don't focus all our resources in one area so we won't bring the area to a halt. For example, you may have a day or two or a week or two of some inconvenience but it will be outweighed by 25 years of improvements."
There is also a chance for Sheffield residents to comment on the scheme before work begins, expected to be in the summer of 2011.
Amey plans to use the seven community assemblies in the area around the city to exhibit its plans and give residents a chance to comment.
"Everybody is touched by the transport network in some way and everybody should have a say."
Seven ways to ease pot hole menacePot Hole city should become a thing of the past once the £2bn highways projects begins. Sheffield City Council has cited seven key ways to improve the area:Smoother road surfaces, which will reduce wear and tear on vehicles and cut fuel consumption, so cutting carbon usage.
Good carriageway surfaces with clear signs and markings to reduce the number of accidents for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Improved surfaces and lighting to encourage more people to walk and cycle more.
Better lighting to help cut crime and the fear of crime.
A reduction in the number of "trips and slips" on Sheffield's paths.
Highway trees replaced and better maintained.
Street lighting, traffic lights and illuminated signs replaced and modernised.
Graeme SymondsGraeme Symonds, the man behind Amey's plans for Sheffield's highways, intends to relocate to the city from Hertfordshire if the firm's tender is successful.
The married father of three, who lives outside Bedford, started his career as a civil engineer at Breheny, in Ipswich, after contemplating a career in the police.
He went on to work in local government in Carlisle and Kendal, in Cumbria. Mr Symonds, the son of an RAF weapons engineer and a teacher, joined Amey in 2002.
