Portsmouth's pioneering highways management contract, UK

Since 1998, Portsmouth City Council (PCC) has been acutely aware that the condition of its highway stock was in decline through lack of investment. Acknowledging that the highway is a universal service used by all residents and visitors, and is key to the future prosperity of the city, PCC looked to identify a better way of delivering a highway maintenance service. Ahead of its time, PCC developed an asset management approach to highways maintenance by defining service standards and levels, and developing an innovative road and footway condition index. An evaluation of options was undertaken prior to selecting the private finance initiative (PFI) route as the mechanism to address the identified maintenance backlog and for funding the long-term future of highway management in the city. The Department for Transport has described this pathfinder project as ‘a pioneering and innovative way of procuring better road maintenance’. After a lengthy procurement process this pathfinder project was granted £121m of PFI credits, and the contract was signed on 30 July 2004. A short six-month mobilisation period followed, with full-service commencement on 31 January 2005. The contract is proving to be an outstanding success, acknowledged by positive comments from both residents and the local media. It has seen a step-change in not only the volume of maintenance work undertaken in the city but also in the profile of the service corporately, nationally and internationally.