Diffey joins Highways England design panel

The head of highways at WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff will advise Highways England (HE) on road design.

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has appointed Roland Diffey (pictured) to be their national representative on the HE design panel. This new forum has been set up to help inform Highways England in the design of safer and more scenic road schemes for millions of users in the UK.

The role of the design panel, which met for the first time earlier this month, is to inform the government’s Road Investment Strategy. Up to 2021, £15.2 billion is to be invested in 112 schemes on England’s motorways and major A-roads in a drive to improve and renew the network for better, greener, and safer roads. The panel compromises experts from the fields of architecture, environment, heritage, design and engineering,

Diffey, who joined WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff in 1990, has spent more than 35 years working on highways and bridge design in the UK and Ireland. He holds a BSc in Engineering Science from Warwick University and is a chartered engineer and chartered environmentalist. As head of highways at WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff, he is responsible for setting and implementing the UK highways strategy in collaboration with the director of highways and bridges, Steven Smith.

Diffey said: “One of my main priorities on this panel is to inspire the creation of exemplary road schemes, particularly in sensitive locations, that are integrated with their surroundings while minimising costs and their environmental footprint. As both a chartered engineer and a chartered environmentalist this panel represents a personal opportunity to make a positive contribution to the future of the strategic road network within England. The combination of expertise represented from a wide range of interests, will work to deliver improvements to the future design and legacy of our roads.”