An enhanced Trunk Road Incident Support Service (TRISS) is being deployed across the network to provide increased assistance during incidents to help keep the trunk road network moving.
This is part of BEAR Scotland’s commitment to delivering a quality service for road users as it starts its new contract in the South East of Scotland.
The company has introduced seven brand new TRISS vehicles with digital display signs that can be activated to provide valuable information to road users.
Responsibility for managing and maintaining 314 miles of trunk roads in the South East of Scotland, including some of the busiest routes in the country, has been officially transferred to BEAR Scotland as of yesterday, one of the leading providers of road maintenance services.
In March this year Transport Scotland appointed BEAR Scotland as the Operating Company for the new Scottish Trunk Road Network Management Contract for the South East Unit until at least 2028. This extends BEAR Scotland’s reach as it currently has responsibility for trunk roads in the North East and North West of Scotland.
The South East Unit now includes the iconic Forth Road Bridge for the first time and the newly completed Queensferry Crossing. The bridges were previously part of a separate maintenance contract.
Iain Murray, managing director of BEAR Scotland, said: “Our long-standing experience in trunk road maintenance across Scotland and the expertise of our dedicated South East team will ensure we deliver and develop a high-level service which focuses on customer care for the people and organisations that rely on trunk roads in South East Scotland for years to come.
“It’s a very exciting time for the company and I look forward to seeing the next chapter unfold as we work hard to enhance our sustainable service offering.”
BEAR Scotland has redeployed a number of its most experienced road managers and team leads to oversee the management of the new South East Unit:
- Andy Thompson is the Operating Company Representative. He has been with BEAR for 17 years and has proven experience in delivering results, most recently in the equivalent role in the North East unit.
- Chris Tracey is the Unit Bridges Manager. Chris joined BEAR five years ago and was previously Engineer Manager for the Forth Road Bridge for 15 years.
- Tommy Deans is Network Manager. Tommy has most recently been in the same role in the North West. He also previously worked in the South East unit.
- Jamie Finlayson is Planned Maintenance Manager. Jamie recently worked as Planned Maintenance Manager in the North West however spent 14 years working in the South East Unit previously.
As an operating company working for Transport Scotland, BEAR Scotland is responsible for the inspection, management and maintenance of the trunk road assets to ensure the safety of all road users and stakeholders. In addition to major road and bridge maintenance work, BEAR Scotland will undertake winter service operations, provide an incident response service, as well other cyclic maintenance activities.
As part of a new fleet of winter spreaders and road maintenance vehicles the company is consciously working to reduce its overall environmental impact by embedding sustainable solutions throughout its operations. As part of this initiative, BEAR plans to include a number of fully electric vehicles to assist with road maintenance operations.
BEAR currently operates major-term maintenance contracts including the management and maintenance of the North West and North East trunk road units of behalf of Transport Scotland. It also manages the M80 Stepps to Haggs project and the A92 Dundee to Arbroath Dualling project.
