Atkins wins highways contract in Bucks

Buckinghamshire Council is to enter into a new ‘highways alliance’ with Atkins and Balfour Beatty Living Places next spring. The council’s current contractor is RingwayJacobs, which has been working with the council under the name Transport for Buckinghamshire.

The authority has awarded Atkins an eight-year contract to provide design and professional services for the county’s highways. The contract will run from 1 April 2023, when the current Transport for Buckinghamshire arrangements come to an end.

Atkins – a member of the SNC- Lavalin Group – will work with Buckinghamshire Council and its new maintenance contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places, appointed in July, to support highways maintenance and infrastructure projects across more than 3,000 miles of roads, footpaths and cycle routes.

There is also an option to extend the £36m contract for a further four years. The contract will include feasibility, investigation, strategy, planning, design, professional support and site supervision.

Atkins will support the council towards its 2050 net zero target and is committed to measuring and reducing carbon emissions on highways work through its Whole Life Carbon Management approach.

Steven Broadbent, Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “We are pleased to have appointed in Atkins a partner committed to providing value for money, searching out innovative ways to better deliver quality services and reducing carbon, which reflects our own goals. They will play an important role in the new arrangements to look after highways in Bucks and over the next few months we will be working with them and Balfour Beatty Living Places to ensure a smooth transition in April next year.”