Hold tight for 2010

摘要

As we draw towards the end of 2009, the thoughts of the industry inevitably turn towards what next year has in store for highways specialists. Our wide ranging survey (pg22-24) reveals that 64% of people are braced for a tough 2010 as they expect the coming year to be as hard, or even tougher, than 2009. But not everything is gloomy as the odd glimmer of hope is starting to emerge in the economy led by actual projects coming through under the government's fiscal stimulus programme. We highlight those contracts in our features pages this month which show that after a slow start, the government is coming good with its promise to bring forward transport spending. That money is providing a lifeline for many firms starved of orders elsewhere and should act as a template for the next government -whatever its political make-up.