The team at National Highways gives Highways readers an overview of their speaker line-up at next month’s Traffex – the nation’s leading roads and transport event.
National Highways is once again reaching out to colleagues across the highways sector with a range of speakers lined up for this year’s Traffex event.
Key representatives from across the business will be offering insight into our leading role in the industry operating, maintaining and improving the strategic road network – more than 4,500 miles of motorways and major A-roads.
Covering a host of different topics, the speakers will set out not only the work we are doing now but also our vision for the roads of the future.
Big names and big business
Giving the keynote speech and leading the National Highways line-up at Birmingham NEC will be chief executive Nick Harris.
As Traffex 2023 gets underway on the morning of Tuesday 6 June, Nick will update the conference on the progress National Highways is making in delivering the Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2), the Government’s strategic roads plan for 2020-2025.
Published in late 2019, this was an ambitious programme of work even before subsequent challenges such as Covid and the rise in inflation.
He will also report on how National Highways is helping to decarbonise the road sector and will look ahead to RIS3 (2025-2030) and beyond, highlighting the themes of the recently published 2050 vision, Connecting the Country.
With the spotlight falling on some of the exciting and important projects in RIS2, there will be a presentation from A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project director Lee Hillyard describing how digital technologies are making planning and designing this complex project easier.
The ambitious scheme will improve the A66 between the M6 at Penrith and A1(M) at Scotch Corner, upgrading single carriageway sections of road to dual carriageway and making improvements to the junctions along the route.
Decarbonisation is of national significance and concern and National Highways is committed to tackling this important environmental issue.
Strategic projects director Liz Garlinge will outline what National Highways is doing in this space, supporting the provision of appropriate infrastructure on and around the strategic road network.
Also taking to the stage this year will be head of carbon and environmental sustainability, Angela Halliwell, who will discuss National Highways’ ambitious Net Zero Highways strategy.
The importance of Traffex
Traffex brings together organisations and businesses from across the public and private sectors, and a large contingent of National Highways’ supply chain.
Procurement programme director Darren Crocker will reach out to representatives to explain what changes companies in the sector can expect to see regarding procurement by National Highways in the coming months.
National Highways speakers will feature throughout the three days, from June 6 to 8, on stage individually and also in a range of panels covering A-road safety, environmental strategy and delivering social value.
Innovation, which is an important part of National Highways’ commitment to Digital Roads, is another key theme.
Last year National Highways ran an innovation competition to find new ways to improve road users’ and communities’ experiences of roadworks. A host of new ideas to take the sting out of roadworks for drivers, local communities and businesses are to be trialled, and a selection of the winning companies will talk about their projects.
Road safety will also be another key theme for speakers – as one of National Highways’ key imperatives. And taking to the stage will be National Highways senior road safety policy advisor Anne-Marie Penny who leads the Driving for Better Business programme, engaging with employers to improve work-related road risk.
Anne-Marie was involved in a life-threatening motorbike crash in 1995 and this experience has inspired her to reduce road collision casualties and the physical and mental trauma that results.
Meanwhile, 2023 is the centenary of Britain’s road numbering system, which is still used today. Strategic communications manager Ian Oliver will describe how this came about and highlight the important role played by strategic A-roads, both now and in the future.
He said:‘This is a particularly important year for all of us in the industry as we both look back at 100 years of A-roads and also look forward to the roads of the future.
‘Traffex is one of the key events in the highways sector calendar and a real opportunity for us at National Highways to reach out to our partners and colleagues across the industry.
‘We are delighted to be able to offer such a varied line-up of speakers, including a keynote speech from our chief executive, that will offer significant insight into the work we are doing now, our plans for RIS3 and our vision for the roads of the future.
‘Please come along to one of our presentations and feel free to ask any questions you may have or share your thoughts. We really do want to hear from you.’
