Highway maintenance contractors have taken legal action against the Alberta Government after 40 per cent of maintenance contracts were awarded to a British Columbia company.

Laurie Stretch, of Stretch Communications and PR for the five companies, says they are seeking a court review as to why this occurred.

"This is a question of fairness to competitors in Alberta, it's also a question of value to Albertans. This is a more expensive option for Albertans, it transfers risk from private companies, so the highway maintenance contractors are wondering why the Alberta Government would opt for sole source to a B.C. company," said Stretch.

Volker Stevin, Ledcor, La Prairie, Carmax and Alberta Highway Services have made a judicial application, asking the courts to review the fairness of whether the Government of Alberta followed it's own policies in how it handled the bankruptcy protection of Carillion.

Carillion held 40 per cent of the contracts for the maintenance of Alberta highways prior to declaring bankruptcy.

Stretch says the Alberta companies were not given the opportunity to even bid on the contracts.

"The government allowed a negotiation with this B.C. company to sweeten the terms of these contracts, and the Alberta companies did not have a chance to bid on that process, or for there to be any competitive tender," she said.

The hearing for review is set to take place September 7th, and we'll provide updates as they become available.