At present the Operating Companies are contracted to manage and maintain the trunk road network on behalf of the Scottish Executive. They undertake:
- Routine and cyclic maintenance
- Emergency response
- Winter maintenance
- Traffic management
- Design and supervision of infrastructure projects
- Maintenance of bridges and structures
- Routine management of the network
- Street lighting and traffic signals
- Structural pavement maintenance
- Road safety schemes
- Road markings
- Safety fence repairs
- Overseeing of works carried out by contractors and utility companies.
The trunk road network is separated into four operational areas. Each area is managed and maintained under a separate contract. The four areas are:
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-
-
-
South West Unit – managed by
Amey.
In 2004/05 the scope of work by the Operating Companies included:
- Over 13,000 site works
- 631,000 square metres of resurfacing, the equivalent of nearly 105 football pitches
- 426 kilometres of road marking renewal, equivalent to the distance from Edinburgh to Nottingham
- Over 11,000 emergency call-out responses
(Source: Maintaining standards - a public report on trunk road maintenance in 2004/05 by PAG, the Performance Audit Group)
The Operating Company contracts last for a period of five years with the option of these being extended to seven years.
