A contract worth hundreds of millions of pounds to look after and maintain the Avonmouth, Severn and Prince of Wales bridges for the next 15 years has been given to UK infrastructure giant Amey.
Highways England awarded the £240million Specialist Bridge Inspection and Maintenance contract to the company after an 18-month procurement and tender process.
The deal is worth £16million a year and will see Amey maintain the three major structures from the end of November.
Amey will be responsible for inspections, routine maintenance and renewal schemes for the bridges, which are vital to the economy of the South West and Wales.
The Prince of Wales Bridge, which includes the Avon Viaduct, Cable Stay and Gwent Viaduct, has 70,000 vehicles travelling across it each day alone.
Meanwhile, the Avonmouth Bridge spans 1,400 metres and the M48 Severn suspension bridge covers 1,600-metres of Highways England road network.
“Partnerships like this will help maintain high standards on the three large bridges,” said Highways England’s operations director Nick Harris.
“By working more closely with our supply chain who carry out maintenance, we will be able to work more effectively, identify innovative ways of working and provide the best possible quality of service to road users.
“We’re delighted to welcome Amey to our South West community and look forward to building a successful, long-term relationship with them, driving improvement and strengthening our regional expertise together.”
Peter Anderson, managing director for transport Infrastructure at Amey, added: “Amey will bring a wealth of innovative operational solutions and capabilities regarding bridge infrastructure.
"[We have] been recognised by Highways England through our work on the Forth Road Bridge amongst other structures across the UK."
