National Highways is funding a trial that seeks to treat spillages on its network more effectively, enabling roads to re-open more quickly.
The trial aims to give the government-owned company a head start in a race against time to avoid damage to the road surface.
When a major incident happens, essential police investigations involving detailed forensic work are often required but while this forensic work takes place, access for National Highways to treat spillages like oil and diesel is restricted.
Fluids such as these can damage the road surface in as little as 90 minutes, potentially requiring resurfacing, which adds to delays on the network.
National Highways said it is joining forces with the Forensic Collision Investigation Network (FCIN) and Kier Highways for a special trial, ‘involving significant research and development, and adopting ground-breaking innovation’.
The trial, costing more than £270,000, is funded from the company’s Innovations Designated Fund and incorporates techniques what it called a real-world testing environment. This is in fact the 200-metre road surface at Santa Pod Raceway (pictured) near Northampton, where three different types of road surface have been installed.
Evidence such as tyre marks and debris - usually found on the road following a major incident - will be placed on the trial area, alongside diesel and oil samples, where specialists will test fluid-based treatments under strict conditions to see if they can absorb the spillages without destroying the evidence at the same location.
National Highways on-road service delivery manager, Sian Norman said: ‘This trial is incredibly exciting because it means we can look in detail at how some of the products work in treating spillages and what impact it might have on any forensic evidence on the road.
‘During any incident, we work very closely with police colleagues to make sure the area is kept sterile for forensic investigation but we’re always aware that we need to get the road back open as soon as it is safe to do so.
‘By investing in innovation, we can explore new technology and solutions to reduce disruption to road users and communities that live alongside our network.’
Frances Senior, head of the FCIN, said: ‘Forensic examinations on our road network are unlike other forensic examination scenes, which can be processed slowly with more control over the elements and mitigating the impact on the public.
‘I’d like to thank National Highways, Kier Highways and Santa Pod Raceway for enabling this trial to happen, our collective ambition to preserve and maximise forensic evidence whilst reducing the impact of road closures on the network will be hugely beneficial for everyone involved in major incidents.’
National Highways said it hopes the trial will lead to a new Standard Operating Procedure being rolled out across England’s police forces.
