Transport Development
Transport Development teams design and build new infrastructure across Somerset. The work we do is directly linked to Somerset County Council's transport policy and helps to improve accessibility in local areas and support the needs of the population as well as promoting economic growth:
- Our investment programme will deliver, on average, in excess of £20 million of new infrastructure in Somerset each year for at least the next five years;
- We are currently designing four major schemes, averaging £10 million each, which include a total of 7 new bridge structures, all to be built before 2012;
- Many of our development schemes have won awards from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and we are recognised for our excellent work in this area;
- We have access to a whole series of major funding opportunities, including Local Transport Plan, Growth Points and Community Infrastructure Fund;
- We have major transport strategies in Bridgwater, Taunton and Yeovil that need successful implementation over the next decade
- The construction of all developer funded highway infrastructure works is supervised by a team of engineers within the group with specialist technical support being procured from engineers both external to the group and the authority as necessary.
- The Highway Authority has a statutory obligation to provide Local Planning Authorities with advice on the highway content of development proposals.
We have a dedicated team of engineers and technicians fulfilling this obligation and working closely with the development industry to deliver a quality product.
- As part of the approvals process all highway infrastructure schemes are subject to technical and safety appraisal at various stages of progression, from feasibility through design, construction and post completion, to ensure that potential road safety problems that may affect any users of the highway are identified and measures to eliminate or mitigate those problems are implemented. Specialist technical support is procured from engineers both external to the group and the authority as necessary.
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The LTP Implementation Team - is responsible for the identification, procurement and implementation of non-major highway improvement schemes in accordance with Somerset County Council's Local Transport Plan, in excess of £4 million a year.
We provide the design services to deliver the schemes for the County Council's Local Transport Plan, as well as development projects. These can range from small scale footpath improvements and bus stop schemes to larger scale junction and road designs. These schemes form part of the Local Transport Plan implementation programme for both highways and road safety engineering improvements, which are carried out in liaison with the Somerset Road Safety Partnership. We deliver in excess of 30 schemes a year.
- Casualty Accident Reduction Team - is responsible for casualty reduction by means of accident investigation and implementation of appropriate engineering schemes at specific locations and along identified routes. In addition they are responsible for Fatal Accident Studies and liaison with the Safety Camera Partnership.
Traffic Management
The Traffic Management service contributes to the management and maintenance of Somerset’s extensive highway network as part of its Traffic Management Act (TMA) duties. It controls and manages vehicle movement, parking and provides for the safe movement of pedestrians, cyclists and all other highway users.
The Traffic Management service is part of the Environment Directorate and is organised in three teams in support of the Traffic Management Duties:
- Traffic Control
- New Roads and Street Works
- Traffic Engineering
This is an exciting period for the Traffic Management service in delivering the Council’s excellence agenda.
Contracts Management
The Contracts Management team provides a wide range of services for the Environment Directorate. The work we do is mostly highway related but may also include other professional services. We provide whole life procurement insofar as our detailed involvement continues after signing of the contract documents. Our service include:
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Preparation of all contract documents
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Advising project managers on procurement options
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Project management of procurement processes, assessment teams and contract awards
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Engagement of consultants to assist with one-off projects
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Liaison, partnering and negotiation with contractors and service providers on commercial and contractual matters
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Encouraging and supporting the use of the NEC3 suite of contracts
The contracts that we procure are mainly term service contracts, but we also provide procurement support for major highway improvement schemes. Out term service contracts include:
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Highway works
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Highway lighting
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Traffic control systems
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Highway design
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Ecology services
Current and future workload includes a new term service contract for highway works, a call-off contract for highway design services, framework contracts for services and works and support for the procurement process for a number of major regeneration and improvement schemes.
