Gwynedd Council has secured a unique long term agreement with the private consortium UK Highways, to operate and maintain the A55 Expressway between Holyhead port and Llandygai, near Bangor.
UK Highways, the Design, Build, Operate and Finance Company, who has a 30 year concession with the Welsh Assembly Government, started a contract with Gwynedd Council to operate and maintain this section of the A55 back in 2001 and both parties have recently agreed to extend the contract a further 18 years from March 2011 until UK Highways’ concession ends in 2029.
“This is a unique agreement, whereby a public sector workforce undertakes an operational and maintenance service for a private sector company,” said Gwyn Morris Jones, Gwynedd Council’s Head of Highways. “It is also unusual to have such a long term – 18 years – contact in the civil engineering sector.”
“A spirit of partnership has developed between both parties. It is seldom that the contract has to be referred to in order to resolve issues of dispute. The success of the agreement demonstrates that the workforce provides a high standard of service at a competitive price.
“The experience gleaned from operating high standards on the A55, which is to quality assurance standards, has influenced other activities undertaken by the Council’s Highways and Municipal Department such as our recent Occupational Health and Safety (18001) accreditation.
“The fact that the Council and UK Highways have backed the agreement so warmly is a reflection of the quality service the Council’s workforce has provided over the past decade and to the close working and effective relationship that exists between both parties. We now look forward to building on this success in partnership with UK Highways.”
John Gardner, UK Highways General Manager added: “We are very pleased to have agreed the contract with Gwynedd to the end of the concession as this recognises the hard work that has been carried out and we look forward to continued success going forward. We are grateful to Gwyn and his team for the effort that has gone into securing this exceptional contract and it demonstrates our continued commitment to invest in local resources.”
