£25m deal to make inroads on backlog

The local authority’s executive this week rubberstamped the deal, worth £25m a year over the next decade, with contractor Ringway Infrastructure Service Ltd, for maintenance of the county’s 5,500 mile highways network – the largest in England.

Ringway will take over in April 2012 from Balfour Beatty WorkPlace which has held the previous contract since 2002.

It is anticipated that the majority of the staff currently working for Balfour Beatty will transfer to the new contractor.

Coun Gareth Dadd, the county council’s executive member for highways, said: “The tender assessment has been thorough and the contract has been awarded to the company which submitted the best bid both in terms of price and quality.

“It will provide excellent value for money for the residents of North Yorkshire.

“I would also like to thank the management and workforce of Balfour Beatty WorkPlace for the high quality service they have provided over the past ten years, which I am sure they will continue to provide for the remainder of the current contract.”

A recent report from Labour’s Shadow Roads Minister, John Woodcock, surveyed 111 local authorities across England, representing around three quarters of councils with a responsibility for road maintenance.

The report highlighted North Yorkshire County Council as one of the five worse, with estimated backlogs topping £400m to achieve a gold-plated standard of roads.

Nearly £7m was granted by the Department of Transport to the county council earlier this year, after it announced it was doubling its pothole repair fund for local authorities across England to £200m.

The contract will cover all aspects of highway maintenance.