
A £60m contract to oversee work on Gloucestershire's highways has been awarded.
Global firm WSP has been chosen to provide engineering design consultancy expertise in the county for the next four years.
Projects it will have a hand in include the M5 J10 improvement works estimated to cost £249m.
The massive project will see a new link road to west Cheltenham created, widening of the A4019 Tewkesbury Road and provision of dedicated footways and cycle lanes.
Gloucestershire County Council's application for development consent was accepted by the Planning Inspectorate in January 2024. The Government has until March 4 to complete its recommendation report to the Secretary Of State.
WSP, which has an office in Cheltenham, will also work on the £40m Gloucestershire Cycle Spine which will provide walking and cycling routes from Stroud to Bishop's Cleeve. It will also oversee structural highway projects and drainage improvements.
The council previously appointed AtkinsRéalis to oversee highways professional services. It's six year contract is due to expire on March 31, 2025 and the cabinet decided in May not to take up the four year extension option.
A report into the decision said the council had new "work volume, scope and breadth" because of changing priorities.
An evaluation concluded it could "achieve greater choice, value for money and access to broader expertise" by moving to a single supplier professional services contract supplemented by a multi- supplier framework agreement.
WSP has been appointed following a competitive tender process based on quality, price and social value scores.
A council spokesperson said: "WSP were assessed as being the highest scoring tender overall, including a good social value offering.
"Social value is increasingly more important to us as an organisation - driving out local opportunities in our county through our contracts."
Canadian based firm WSP Global Inc. was created in 2012, following Montreal-based Genivar's takeover of British firm WSP Group plc.
It is one of the largest professional services firms in the world, with approximately 73,300 employees in 500 offices serving in 40 countries.
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