Sale of Atkins’ highways operations and maintenance business to Skanska last Thursday leaves the consultant free to develop road tolling and bridge management capabilities, according to a senior company figure.

Atkins’ highways and transportation group managing director Philip Hoare MCIHT (pictured) said the group will begin to look more towards designing road user charging schemes and the management and rehabilitation of complex bridge structures. He spoke to Transportation Professional after Skanska announced the acquisition of Atkins’ highways operations and maintenance business for £18M. All 1200 staff will transfer to Skanska, which takes on a business with revenues of £80M and a profit of £1.3M in the six months to September 2012.

“Now the sale has gone through we can turn our attention to a number of significant growth areas,” Mr Hoare said. “We have appointed a new service director for tolling and charging who joins us on 1 April to look at projects such as Dartford free flow tolling. And I want to strengthen our structures capability with a focus on managing and rehabilitating the country’s ageing bridge stock, following our work on the M4 Boston Manor Viaduct prior to the Olympics.”

Going forwards Atkins’ highways and transportation group will focus on three key disciplines. The first two are asset management and major projects such as motorway upgrades, where there are “a number of significant opportunities”. The group will also continue to provide strategic advice to developers and central and local government regarding transport policy.

“We will retain our position as a leading highways and transportation consultant and are continuing to recruit new people after a difficult couple of years,” Mr Hoare said. “We will also remain part of the M25 Connect Plus DBFO.”

Contracts set to be relinquished by Atkins to Skanska under the highways maintenance acquisition include the Highways Agency’s asset support contracts for areas two (South West England) and six (East Anglia). Atkins also proposes to let go of local authority maintenance deals with Gloucestershire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Bath & North East Somerset and a homes and schools transport service in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

Skanska assumes ownership of the business on 1 June.

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