Additional work and budget for reshaped Area 7 contract

National Highways has adjusted its existing Area 7 maintenance and response contract with Amey Highways, adding a new section of the A50 and shortening the timeframe of the contract.

The area added to the contract covers half of the A50 eastbound from the Toyota roundabout, which is currently maintained under a Design Build Finance & Operate (DBFO) contract.

However, this DBFO is due to expire on 30 June 2026 so it was merged with the existing maintenance and response (M&R) contract before the introduction of the new M&R2.

This has meant that the current M&R contract has been given a new end date of 1 July 2029 instead of 30 June 2031 to align with the procurement process for the next M&R2 contracts.

These changes have also meant that the original contract value of £422.7m has been increased by 32% to £557.3m to accommodate the additional work that is expected to be undertaken.

National Highways head of strategic project delivery, Paul Williams, said: ‘As the A50 DBFO reaches its contract end we intend to merge the route into our standard ways of working, which includes the existing maintenance and response contract. This will deliver value for money and allow us to standardise the operation in the region.’

Full details of the adjusted contract can be found here.

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