You’re searching for highways maintenance tenders across multiple portals. You’re missing opportunities because you don’t know they exist until it’s too late. Your competitors are already engaged with buyers, shaping requirements, whilst you’re still searching. And when you do find a tender, you’re bidding blind—without knowing who won last time or at what price. Meanwhile, framework windows close without you realising, locking you out of contracts for the next three to five years. Highway maintenance is essential for ensuring the safety of road users, making these opportunities critical for both public safety and business success.
This is the reality for most suppliers competing in the UK transport and highways maintenance market. From highway maintenance contracts to winter maintenance, traffic management, and term agreements, opportunities are fragmented across multiple portals, procurement routes, and buyer channels. In the past, suppliers faced even greater challenges due to less transparency and fewer tools to track opportunities. Without a systematic approach to discovery and monitoring, you’re trapped in a reactive cycle—responding to published tenders instead of engaging early, understanding competitive context, and planning strategically.
This guide teaches you how to uncover transport and highways maintenance opportunities systematically. You’ll learn where opportunities are published, how to build a proactive monitoring strategy, how to identify framework renewals before they’re advertised, and how to qualify opportunities quickly. Uncovering and winning these opportunities can have a big impact on your business, enabling you to grow your customer base and better support your employees. By the end, you’ll have a practical roadmap to shift from reactive discovery to strategic procurement planning—the approach used by suppliers who win consistently.
What Is Highway Maintenance in Transport Procurement? Scope and Buyer Needs
Highway maintenance is a broad category within transport procurement. It encompasses works (carriageway resurfacing, pothole repair, drainage maintenance), services (winter maintenance, street lighting, traffic management), and longer-term agreements (term maintenance contracts with local authorities and national bodies).
The typical buyers are local authority highways departments, the Department for Transport, National Highways, combined authorities, regional transport bodies, and housing associations with highways responsibilities. These organisations and departments have clear outcomes they’re trying to achieve: maintaining road safety, building resilience against weather and traffic impacts, managing lifecycle costs, meeting regulatory compliance, and increasingly, delivering social value through local employment and environmental sustainability.
Since the Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025, the UK public procurement market has experienced significant shifts. By December 2025, over 53,000 notices and awards had been published under the new Act. Pre-market engagement is now legally mandated, creating more opportunities for suppliers to engage buyers early and shape requirements—a fundamental shift from the reactive tendering model that preceded it. This means that for highways maintenance suppliers, the window for early buyer engagement has widened considerably, provided you know where and how to look. The Department for Transport has specific guidelines on how to conduct procurement for highway maintenance services, which include compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Procurement routes vary significantly. Some opportunities come through open tenders, others are awarded via framework agreements—pre-approved supplier lists that lock in contracts for three to five years. Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) allow suppliers to register and bid on call-offs at any time. And some opportunities emerge through restricted procedures or competitive dialogue, where buyers engage selected suppliers on specific challenges. Bidders for highway maintenance contracts must meet specific criteria set by the contracting authority, which may include financial stability and relevant experience.
Contract values range from £50,000 (small maintenance contracts) to £50 million or more (multi-year frameworks). Durations typically span two to five years for term contracts, with frameworks often running three to five years with optional extensions. Understanding this landscape is critical because it shapes where you look, how you monitor, and how you plan your bid strategy.
Types of Highway Maintenance Contracts and Transport Contracts to Watch
Not all transport and highways maintenance contracts are the same. Different contract types require different capabilities, timelines, and competitive positioning. Here are the key types you should be monitoring:
Carriageway resurfacing — Planned resurfacing of road surfaces, typically worth £1 million to £10 million+ depending on scope. These are often tendered annually or as part of multi-year term agreements. Buyers evaluate on technical capability, safety record, and cost efficiency.
Winter maintenance — Gritting, snow clearance, and pothole repair. These are seasonal or annual contracts, often with reactive elements (emergency response to weather events). Competition is intense, and response speed matters.
Street lighting — Installation, maintenance, and energy management. Often bundled with highways contracts or procured separately. Increasingly linked to smart city and carbon reduction initiatives.
Traffic management — Temporary traffic control for roadworks. High-frequency, sometimes reactive contracts. Accreditation (TTRO compliance, traffic regulation orders) is essential.
Bridge and structures maintenance — Specialist works with higher value and longer duration. Requires specific engineering expertise and insurance.
Drainage and flood management — Maintenance of drainage systems. Proper drainage systems are crucial in highway maintenance to prevent water accumulation and damage. Growing in importance as climate resilience becomes a buyer priority.
Term maintenance — Ongoing maintenance contracts with local authorities, typically three to five years. These are the most valuable for long-term revenue planning.
Routine maintenance activities include pothole repairs, surface treatments, and vegetation control.
Beyond highways, related transport contracts worth monitoring include fleet management and maintenance, road safety services, transport consultancy, and public transport infrastructure maintenance. Certain types of haulage or maintenance work are highly wanted by both buyers and suppliers, so monitoring demand and availability is key. Understanding which contract types align with your capability is essential—it helps you focus your monitoring effort and avoid low-probability bids.
Where to Find and Uncover Transport and Highways Maintenance Opportunities
According to Tracker market analysis conducted in February 2026, transport and highways maintenance is increasingly dominated by framework agreements. In 2025, frameworks accounted for 18.94% of all contract notices, but represented 75.4% of total contract value—demonstrating that whilst frameworks are fewer in number, they concentrate the vast majority of procurement spend. This concentration creates significant opportunity for suppliers who understand framework entry windows and renewal cycles, but poses substantial risk for those who miss entry deadlines. Only 32.7% of suppliers have access to this 75.4% of value, making framework intelligence a critical competitive differentiator.
Local authority portals — Many local authorities maintain their own procurement portals (e.g., “Procurement Hub,” “Supplier Hub”). Highways departments often publish directly on their websites. Regional variations exist—some councils use shared procurement platforms like Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation or NEPO.
Framework and DPS portals — Framework agreements are published on buyer websites and central portals. Dynamic Purchasing Systems have dedicated portals where suppliers can register and bid on call-offs. National Highways, for example, maintains a DPS for traffic management services, regularly re-tendered to ensure cost competitiveness and service quality.
Prior Information Notices (PINs) — Published 12+ months before tender, PINs signal buyer pipeline and budget. They’re invaluable for early engagement but often overlooked by reactive suppliers. Regular inspections and assessments of highways help identify maintenance needs before they become critical, supporting the value of early engagement.
Buyer engagement channels — Pre-tender briefings, market engagement events, supplier forums, and direct contact with procurement teams. The Procurement Act 2023 now requires buyers to engage the market early, creating more opportunities for early dialogue.
Procurement intelligence platforms aggregate opportunities from fragmented portals, enrich data with incumbent bidding information and framework intelligence, and deliver proactive alerts. These platforms make it easy to monitor and discover new opportunities, eliminating manual portal monitoring and catching opportunities two weeks earlier than reactive competitors.
For businesses serious about winning public sector contracts, the case for using a platform like Tracker is straightforward. Without it, bid teams are left manually trawling dozens of portals, piecing together incomplete pictures of the market, and often discovering opportunities too late to put together a competitive response. Tracker centralises all of that intelligence in one place — so teams can focus their time on crafting winning bids rather than hunting for them. With visibility into who holds incumbent contracts, when frameworks are due for renewal, and which opportunities align with their capabilities, organisations can build a genuine pipeline strategy rather than reacting to whatever lands in their inbox.
Must-Track Notice Types: PINs, Frameworks, DPS, and Open Tenders
Different notice types signal different opportunities and require different response strategies:
Prior Information Notices (PINs) — Published 12+ months before tender, these signal buyer intent and budget. They’re your earliest warning of upcoming opportunities. Response: Attend pre-tender briefings, ask questions about requirements, demonstrate capability early.
Framework agreements — Typically three to five years; entry window is usually six to 12 months before re-tender. Missing the window locks you out until the next renewal. Response: Plan entry 12+ months in advance, understand incumbent positioning, prepare strong bid materials six months before publication.
Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) — Ongoing systems where suppliers can register and bid on call-offs at any time. Entry windows are typically open, though periodic closure dates may apply. Response: Register immediately, monitor for call-offs, bid within 48 hours of publication.
Open tenders — Published with fixed deadline (typically 30-60 days). Response: Bid quickly, ask clarifying questions, position against incumbents.
Why this matters: Each notice type requires different engagement timing and strategy. PINs enable early relationship building. Frameworks require long-term planning. DPS requires rapid response. Open tenders require quick positioning. Without understanding these distinctions, you’ll miss early engagement windows and miss opportunities entirely. Effective highway maintenance contributes to the longevity of infrastructure and reduces the need for costly repairs, making timely and appropriate responses to notices even more critical.
After engaging with a notice or completing a contract, remember to leave feedback or comments about your experience—this helps buyers and other suppliers evaluate service quality. Additionally, follow updates or new notices from buyers to stay informed about future highway maintenance opportunities.
Building a Monitoring Strategy for Highway Maintenance Contracts
Reactive suppliers discover opportunities after publication. Proactive suppliers discover them six to 12 months in advance. The difference is systematic monitoring.
A monitoring strategy has several dimensions:
Keywords — Monitor for specific contract types (e.g., “carriageway resurfacing,” “winter maintenance,” “term maintenance,” “traffic management”). Group related keywords into clusters to reduce noise.
CPV/category filters — Use standard procurement classification codes to narrow results. For highways, relevant CPV codes include 45200000-7 (Road construction work), 45210000-8 (Motorway construction), and related categories.
Regions — Focus on geographies where you have capability and relationships. Narrow by local authority, combined authority, or region.
Values — Set value bands (e.g., £500,000 to £5 million) to focus on opportunities you can win. Avoid wasting effort on contracts outside your capacity.
Buyer types — Monitor specific buyer types (local authorities, National Highways, housing associations). Different buyer types have different procurement patterns and evaluation criteria.
Alert cadence — Set frequency (daily, weekly, real-time) based on your bid capacity. Too many alerts = ignored alerts. Too few = missed opportunities.
The transport and highways maintenance market is becoming significantly more competitive. In 2025, the number of suppliers competing in public procurement grew by 12.8% year-over-year, with the supplier-to-buyer ratio reaching 5.3:1 (up from 5.2:1 in 2024). This increased competition means that suppliers who rely on manual, reactive discovery are increasingly disadvantaged. Proactive monitoring, early buyer engagement, and competitive intelligence are no longer optional—they’re essential to maintaining market share as more suppliers enter the space. Effective highway maintenance practices can enhance the overall driving experience and reduce accidents.
A proactive monitoring strategy not only helps you stay ahead of competitors but also supports your business to grow by consistently identifying and acting on new opportunities.
Using monitoring tools is about more than just efficiency—they are giving you access to more and better opportunities, allowing you to respond faster and with greater precision.
Step-by-step setup:
- Define your target market (sectors, geographies, value bands, buyer types)
- Identify key keywords (contract types, buyer names, service descriptions)
- Set up alerts for each keyword/filter combination
- Assign ownership (typically business development)
- Set response SLAs (assess opportunity within 24 hours, decide to bid within 48 hours)
- Review and optimise monthly
Practical example: A highways supplier targets highways maintenance in the South East, value £500,000 to £5 million, local authorities and National Highways. They set up alerts for “carriageway resurfacing,” “term maintenance,” “winter maintenance,” “traffic management,” and “bridge maintenance.” They receive three to five alerts per week, assess each within 24 hours, and decide to bid within 48 hours. Result: They bid on 10-15 opportunities per year and win two to three (20-30% win rate).
Pre-Tender Pipeline: Expiring Highway Maintenance Contracts and Renewal Cycles
Framework agreements lock in suppliers for three to five years. Missing the entry window locks you out until the next re-tender. Proactive suppliers identify expiring frameworks 12+ months in advance and plan entry strategically.
How to identify expiring frameworks:
- Map all frameworks in your target sectors and geographies
- Record expiry dates
- Calculate re-tender publication date (typically six months before expiry)
- Set alerts 12 months before expiry
Framework renewal cycle:
- Month -12: Framework expiry identified; relationship building begins
- Month -9: Capability gap analysis; investment planning
- Month -6: Re-tender published; bid preparation begins
- Month -3: Bid materials finalised; buyer engagement continues
- Month 0: Bid submitted; tender evaluation
- Month +1: Award announced; transition to delivery
Early engagement strategy: Attend pre-tender briefings. Ask questions about buyer priorities and evaluation criteria. Understand incumbent performance and satisfaction. Position yourself as the alternative if incumbent is underperforming. Build relationships with procurement teams.
Revenue exposure calculation: Annual contract value × Framework duration × Win probability = Revenue exposure. Example: £2 million annual × 5 years × 60% win probability = £6 million revenue exposure. This quantification helps prioritise framework entry efforts.
From a market analysis conducted in December 2025, nearly 7,000 frameworks are expiring in 2026. Local government has 2,500 frameworks due to expire with a combined value of £18 billion. Central government has 1,500 frameworks expiring with £135 billion sitting behind them. This represents significant opportunity for suppliers who plan framework entry strategically. The frameworks expiring in 2026 represent a critical window: miss the entry deadline and you’re locked out until 2031 or beyond.
Qualification and Compliance for Contract Transport Services
Buyers use selection criteria to de-risk procurement. Non-compliance literally means automatic rejection. Here are the common criteria for highways maintenance contracts:
Health & Safety — Safety record, H&S management systems, incident history. ISO 45001 accreditation is valuable. Training in highway maintenance often includes safety protocols and behaviour management techniques to ensure both staff and public safety.
Traffic management accreditation — Competence in managing traffic during works (TTRO, traffic regulation orders). Essential for any highways work.
Environmental and carbon requirements — Carbon reduction plans, environmental management, sustainability credentials. Increasingly important as buyers focus on net-zero.
Social value — Local employment, apprenticeships, community benefit, social impact. Now a mandatory evaluation criterion under the Procurement Act 2023. Bidders are encouraged to demonstrate their understanding of social value in their proposals for highway maintenance contracts.
Insurance — Public liability, professional indemnity, employer’s liability. Typical minimums: £10 million public liability.
Financial standing — Turnover, profitability, credit rating, financial stability. Buyers want assurance you can deliver.
Quality management — ISO certifications, quality systems, customer references.
Delivery capability — Plant and equipment, workforce, subcontractor network.
Qualification checklist:
- Contract value within your range?
- Duration acceptable?
- Geography within your operational area?
- Buyer type you’ve worked with before?
- Competitive positioning clear?
- Capability match strong?
- Bid effort justified by win probability?
- Are you needing to meet all prerequisites before bidding? Missing any requirement will literally result in your bid being rejected.
Essential documents to prepare:
- Method statement (how you’ll deliver)
- Risk assessments (identification and mitigation)
- RAMS (Risk Assessment and Method Statement)
- Quality plan
- Sustainability/carbon plan
- Social value plan
- Case studies (similar work you’ve delivered)
- References (contact details for previous clients)
- Certifications (ISO, accreditations, insurance certificates)
- Financial statements (turnover, profitability evidence)
- Organisational capability (team structure, key personnel, experience)
Prepare these documents six months before tender. Finalise them three months before. This ensures you’re always bid-ready and can respond quickly to opportunities.
Partnering, Lots, and Subcontracting Routes in Transport Procurement
Not every supplier can win as a prime contractor. Understanding alternative entry routes is critical:
Prime contractor route — You’re the main contractor; you manage all delivery, subcontractors, and buyer relationship. Advantage: Full control, full margin. Disadvantage: Full risk, full responsibility. Suitable for: Larger suppliers with full capability.
Joint venture (JV) route — You partner with another supplier; you share risk, margin, and responsibility. Advantage: Shared risk, combined capability. Disadvantage: Shared margin, shared decision-making. Suitable for: Suppliers with complementary capability (e.g., resurfacing + traffic management).
Subcontracting route — You’re a subcontractor to a prime contractor. Advantage: Lower risk, lower investment. Disadvantage: Lower margin, dependent on prime contractor. Suitable for: Specialist suppliers (e.g., traffic management, drainage).
Lot structure — Frameworks often have multiple lots (e.g., Lot 1: Resurfacing, Lot 2: Winter maintenance, Lot 3: Traffic management). You can bid for one or multiple lots. Smaller suppliers can bid for specialist lots.
Framework entry for SMEs — Frameworks often reserve lots for smaller companies (e.g., “Lot 3: Reserved for SMEs”). This creates entry opportunity. Advantage: Lower competition, lower barriers to entry. Disadvantage: Smaller contract value, limited scope.
Practical example: A resurfacing specialist partners with a traffic management specialist; they bid for a term maintenance framework as a JV; they win and deliver together. A small traffic management specialist bids as a subcontractor to a prime contractor; they’re selected and deliver traffic management services. A small traffic management specialist bids for a framework lot reserved for SMEs; they win and deliver traffic management services.
Proposal Excellence: Winning Strategies for Highway Maintenance and Transport Contracts
Winning bids are built on evidence, not promises. Here’s how to craft compelling proposals:
Evidence-based method statements — Don’t describe what you’ll do; show what you’ve done. Use case studies and examples from similar work. Quantify outcomes (e.g., “We reduced traffic disruption by 30%,” “We delivered two weeks early”). Show understanding of buyer’s specific context (e.g., “We understand this is a busy urban area; we’ll use night works to minimise disruption”). Your proposal should provide clear, relevant evidence and practical solutions that address the buyer’s needs.
Innovation and differentiation — Identify where you can add value beyond compliance. Examples: New technology (automated traffic management), process improvement (faster response time), sustainability (carbon reduction). Position innovation as risk mitigation (e.g., “Our new technology reduces traffic disruption and improves safety”). Consultancy services in highway maintenance can provide organizations with tailored strategies for managing challenging behaviors, further differentiating your offer.
Safety performance — Buyers prioritise safety. Demonstrate strong safety culture. Include safety statistics (e.g., “Zero lost-time accidents in five years”). Describe safety processes and training. Show commitment to continuous improvement. Behavior support training is essential for staff working in highway maintenance to ensure safety and effective communication.
Carbon reduction and sustainability — Increasingly important for public sector buyers. Demonstrate carbon reduction plans (e.g., “We’ll reduce carbon emissions by 20% through electric vehicles”). Show environmental credentials (ISO 14001). Align with buyer’s sustainability goals.
Social value outcomes — Quantify outcomes (e.g., “We’ll create five apprenticeships,” “We’ll employ 80% local workforce”). Show commitment to social value delivery. Explain how you’ll measure and evidence outcomes. Highlight the positive impact your work can have on both the community and the environment.
Buyer alignment — Understand buyer’s priorities (from tender documents, pre-tender briefing, previous feedback). Tailor your proposal to buyer’s priorities. Use buyer’s language and terminology. Show that you understand their challenges and constraints.
30–60–90 Day Plan to Operationalise Uncovering Transport and Highways Maintenance Opportunities
Trying to do everything at once is overwhelming. A phased approach allows you to build capability, learn, and optimise.
Phase 1: Days 1-30 (Setup and Baseline)
- Week 1: Platform setup — Configure alerts, set up user accounts, complete onboarding. Ensure your inbox is set up to receive real-time alerts and notifications from the platform. If available, enable GPS technology integration to track vehicles in real time, as used in freight exchange platforms.
- Week 2: Define target market — Document sectors, geographies, value bands, buyer types
- Week 3: Build monitoring profile — Set up keyword clusters, geographic filters, value filters, buyer type filters
- Week 4: Establish baseline — Review alerts, assess quality, adjust filters, document current pipeline and win rate
Phase 2: Days 31-60 (Build and Qualify)
- Week 5: Build watchlists — Create watchlists for key opportunities, assign ownership, set response SLAs. Freight exchange platforms can improve efficiency at this stage by matching delivery requests with transport firms based on load type and location.
- Week 6: Qualify hot leads — Review alerts, qualify each opportunity, create shortlist of high-probability opportunities. When qualifying, consider the money involved in each opportunity to ensure alignment with your financial goals.
- Week 7: Engage buyers — Attend pre-tender briefings, ask questions, build relationships
- Week 8: Plan bids — For each shortlisted opportunity, develop bid strategy, identify capability gaps, plan timeline
Phase 3: Days 61-90 (Optimise and Scale)
- Week 9: Optimise bid cadence — Review bid results, analyse win/loss data, identify patterns, adjust bid strategy. You don’t need to worry about the complexity of the process; our approach is straightforward and transparent, making it easy to follow.
- Week 10: Build reporting — Set up dashboards, track key metrics, review metrics weekly. Using technology in highway maintenance can help reduce costs by maximizing the use of available capacity in transport, ensuring efficient resource allocation.
- Week 11: Expand monitoring — Based on learnings, expand monitoring to new keywords and geographies
- Week 12: Plan next quarter — Review 90-day results, set targets for next quarter, identify capability gaps
Expected outcomes by day 90:
- 40% more opportunities identified (vs. manual monitoring)
- Two weeks earlier discovery (vs. reactive competitors)
- 20% higher win rate (vs. baseline)
- 30% faster bid response time
- Clear visibility of 12-month pipeline
Beyond day 90: By month 6, sustained monitoring typically reveals 8-10 framework expiry signals per quarter, enabling 18-month forward pipeline visibility. By month 12, suppliers following this discipline report 35-40% year-over-year growth in contract pipeline value.
Be Proactive With Highway Maintenance Opportunities
Transport and highways maintenance opportunities are fragmented across multiple portals and procurement routes. Proactive suppliers who systematically monitor PINs, frameworks, and open tenders discover opportunities six to 12 months earlier than reactive competitors and win more consistently. Certain contracts are highly wanted by suppliers, making early discovery and engagement even more critical.
Highway maintenance can significantly affect the reliability of public transport services. Disruptions caused by maintenance often lead to delays in public transport schedules and impact logistics by altering routes for public transport vehicles. These changes can increase operational costs for public transport providers due to detours and delays, and may require public transport contracts to be adjusted to accommodate service changes.
Building a structured monitoring strategy—with targeted keywords, geographic filters, value bands, and buyer type filters—reduces bid effort and increases win rates. Qualification and early buyer engagement are key to success. And planning framework entry 12+ months in advance is critical to preventing multi-year revenue lock-outs.
Operationalising opportunity discovery through a 30-60-90 day plan enables you to build capability, learn, and optimise. Quick wins in phase one build momentum for strategic planning in phases two and three. The market is becoming more competitive, and suppliers who act now will establish the systematic discovery practices that winners rely on.
Tracker Intelligence automates opportunity discovery, enriches data with competitive intelligence and framework insights, and enables proactive monitoring—transforming you from reactive bidder to strategic supplier. This is the place to find and win the most wanted transport and highways maintenance opportunities. Start your transport procurement monitoring programme today. Book a demo to see how Tracker Intelligence helps suppliers uncover and win transport and highways maintenance opportunities.
