![The recently installed highways maintenance operational control hub for Balfour’s client Lincolnshire County Council (image courtesy Balfour Beatty Living Places)](jpg/euronews-uk-balfourlincolnextension%20-%20pic0bf5.jpg)
Balfour Beatty Living Places has been awarded a €385 million (£330 million) six-year extension to its highways maintenance contract with Lincolnshire County Council in England.
The extension builds on the current six-year contract which ends in 2026. The new deal will run until spring 2032. It covers The council’s 9,240km of carriageways, provide drainage cleaning services as well as winter and reactive highways maintenance such as gritting, road repairs and traffic management.
The company said the contract will continue to employ 183 people, including 10 apprenticeship and graduate positions as part of Balfour Beatty’s commitment to the 5% Club. By joining the 5% Club, employers seek to achieve 5% of their workforce in earn-and-learn positions. These include apprentices, sponsored students and graduates who, within five years of joining the company, have a formalised training scheme.
Balfour said it will use its operational control hub, which came on line earlier this year, to monitor all activities in real-time and drive efficiencies across the local road network. Steve Helliwell, managing director of Balfour Beatty Living Places, said the hub serves as a platform for teams to promptly address network issues, facilitating real-time digital planning. It empowers efficient organisation of both reactive and emergency works, along with streamlined defect reporting in a dynamic digital environment.
“Today’s announcement will see us continue to provide a best-in-class highways maintenance service,” said Helliwell, “while offering customer-focused solutions in a collaborative partnership and leaving a lasting positive legacy for the communities we serve.”