Signs Express wins bus station contract

Preston-based Signs Express has won the contract to design and deliver 1,500 signs for the city's £23.3m refurbishment and redevelopment of the city’s iconic bus station.

The company was appointed by Conlon Construction to deliver all the signage for the refurbished Grade II-listed building.

The work includes re-creating the original sign designs, by the architects and engineers at Building Design Partnership and Ove Arup & Partners, which were installed when the bus station was first opened in the late 1960s.

The first-stage of the contract to improve the bus station concourse has already been completed and handed over to Lancashire County Council by Preston-based Conlon as part of the wider development project.

The bus station work is just one of a number of projects Signs Express is delivering for large-scale construction and regeneration projects across the North West being carried out by big-name regional builders including Conlon, Warden Construction and Eric Wright.

Signs Express’ clients also include hospital trusts, schools and colleges across Lancashire, local authorities, universities and manufacturers.

Ben Hall, director at Signs Express, said: “As a Preston company we are very proud to have been appointed to this important regeneration project for the city.

“The work we have been carrying out has also been fascinating as the regeneration project includes restoring a lot of the bus station to its original 1960s look, including the signs and the distinctive numbers on each original bus bay."

Quirks of the job abound as the listed status of the bus station means certain original signs must be restored or replaced.

Ben Hall says: “On the eastern apron, where the new bus terminals are being located, the original signs number 1 to 40 inside the concourse and will be retained and restored. “But, there are going to be fewer bays for buses so externally every sixth or seventh number is missing. There will be no numbers 18, 26 or 33 for example."