Work has been priced between £137m and £159m annually over five years, although previous ASC areas have come in under initial estimates in the face of cut-throat bidding for work.
The contract will start in January 2014 to formally come into operation on the roads at the start of July after Amey’s MAC contract finishes. Later agency officials will consider an option to extend the new arrangement for a further three years.
Maintenance and improvement works in what amounts to its largest region covers major highways in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, and Shropshire as well as the Metropolitan Boroughs of Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley and the City of Birmingham.
Interested firms have until 23 January to access prequal documents from the Highways Agency’s eSourcing portal.