A ROAD MAINTENANCE firm has announced plans for a new expansion, expanding its staff and upgrading its fleet of vehicles.

KAYS Traffic Management of Blackburn with be purchasing 25 new traffic management vans and a new eighteen tonne traffic management input protection vehicle and has already welcomed a new traffic management planning technician onto its team to help ease the process behind the expansion.

This comes as the firm works not only to maintain roads, the opportunity having been presented by an unprecedented reduction in traffic due to the coronavirus pandemic, but also to help place ‘road rainbows’ and messages of thanks to NHS workers along various locales in the North West.

Commercial director Shaun Hargreaves said: “We’re thrilled to reveal the announcement of our all-new and improved fleet.

“As a direct product of our hard work and determination throughout the pandemic, the new vehicles will allow us to continue to deliver exceptional traffic management services while keeping the public safe on the roads, and ultimately, to assist the country in moving forward.”

The Great Harwood business has also assisted with the removal of current existing cycle lane markings in Bolton and will be re-installing new ones, with lane delineates to be positioned imminently.

These company hopes that these changes will see safer cycling within the town for residents to move around with ease and that safer cycle lanes will ease some of the pressures on public transport, while also providing a healthy alternative for travel during the pandemic.

Similarly KAYS has previously been implementing the roll out of social distancing markings in Bolton town centre, which they hope will help locals to feel safer when eventually venturing outside once the threat of the virus recedes.

Mr Hargreaves said: “We are proud to be a backbone for our community, keeping our teams in jobs at a time when unemployment has risen, whilst also knowing that we are providing a much needed service as a time when local authorities and other organisations really need a reliable partner.