VolkerHighways has started work on awarded a Traffic Route LED and Column Replacement contract with Oxfordshire County Council worth £5m.
The works began in October and are expected to take 18 months overall. The project is an add-on to the £30m Highways Electrical Assets contract that the firm was awarded in December 2021.
VolkerHighways said it was awarded the additional contract based on quality and reliability, following the successful delivery of the current contract.
The new contract will see 6,321 LED lantern replacements and 3,657 column replacements on columns sized eight metres and above, which are located within busy city/town centres, on ring roads and on high-speed roads across the county.
VolkerHighways will provide traffic management support through its specialist in-house division to supply traffic management in highly pedestrianised areas and on the high-speed roads. It will also work during restricted hours to reduce disruption to residents and commuters.
The firm said it is on track to achieve the council’s target of delivering 75% of Traffic Route LEDs by the end of the 2023 financial year.
Under the original £30m maintenance contract, which runs for five years with the possibility of three one-year extensions, VolkerHighways is responsible for maintaining around 60,000 street lights and over 6,000 illuminated signs, bollards and other illuminated equipment, across the county.
It is also upgrading a further 35,000 units to LED and in 2022 installed over 25,428 LEDs across Oxfordshire.
Andrew Gant, cabinet member for highways management for Oxfordshire County Council, said: ‘Converting our streetlights to LED is the most significant project we are carrying out to reduce our carbon emissions, so we are delighted that this work is continuing at a pace.’
Alistair Thompson, managing director of VolkerHighways, said: ‘With rising energy costs, LEDs prove an effective way not only to reduce costs, but also to play a part in reducing Oxfordshire County Council’s carbon footprint.’
