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Highways Magazine’s Apprentice of the Year: My story so far 20/01/2022 Ella Northey, Balfour Beatty engineering apprentice, was crowned Apprentice of the Year at the Highways Awards 2021. Here, she talks about her journey.
Trio in the running for £730m East Sussex contract 20/01/2022 East Sussex CC has announced a shortlist of three companies for a £730m highways maintenance and infrastructure services contract.
Liverpool launches £40m framework procurement 20/01/2022 A £40m highways framework covering the Liverpool Combined Authority region is open to supplier bids.
Costain in early with £100m Lancaster works package 20/01/2022 Costain has won an early contractor involvement contract worth £100m for a package of highways works for Lancashire County Council.
Street light trial illuminates CAV landscape 19/01/2022 National Highways has carried out a successful proof of concept trial of intelligent street lighting.
HOCHTIEF to move into UK highways 19/01/2022 HOCHTIEF has announced plans to move into the UK highways operations and maintenance market.
VIDEO: Complexity made easy in £61m flyover 19/01/2022 National Highways has released time-lapse footage showing the ‘methodical and complex work’ of installing giant steel beams for a new £61m flyover on the A46 at Binley, Coventry.
Buchanan Computing: Still breaking new ground after 25 years 19/01/2022 Leading highways software supplier Buchanan Computing is celebrating its 25th birthday this year with the launch of a national platform that enables people to view the UK’s parking and other kerbside restrictions for the first time.
RIS safety target in doubt without lockdown 17/01/2022 New analysis suggests National Highways would have missed a vital road safety target if traffic levels had not plummeted during the pandemic.
Scottish Government puts road pricing firmly on the agenda 17/01/2022 Scottish ministers will this year commission research into demand management options to discourage car use, ‘including pricing’.
Contractors line up for £1.2bn Birmingham PFI 14/01/2022 A host of industry names are showing interest in a £1.2bn Private Finance Initiative concession to maintain roads in Birmingham for the city council.
Pothole breakdowns hit record high 14/01/2022 The RAC’s patrols attended over 10,000 pothole-related breakdowns last year – the equivalent of 27 every day and the highest annual total since 2018, new figures show.
Mr Pothole: 'There is no real oversight' 13/01/2022 Former mayor of Brackley, Mr Pothole (aka Mark Morrell) has spent nine years campaigning for better-maintained roads and as usual this National Pothole Day (14 January) he will be making the media rounds to raise awareness of the issue.
National Pothole Day 2022: Innovation, innovation, innovation 13/01/2022 To mark National Pothole Day this year (14 January), proud sponsors UltraCrete have brought together key industry figures to discuss the importance of innovation in UK roads.
CECA comment: 2022 is a year of opportunity 13/01/2022 Marie-Claude Hemming, director of external affairs at The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), looks ahead to a busy year in roads.
Smart motorway safety: Campaigners react to Shapps' pause 13/01/2022 Reaction to the Government’s latest announcement on smart motorways has focused on the need to deliver additional emergency refuge areas (ERAs), while broadly supporting the freeze on new all lane running (ALR) schemes.
Amey starts 'challenging' bridge swap works 13/01/2022 Lead constructor AmeySRM has started main construction work on National Highways’ £23m project to provide a new road bridge over the M56 in Cheshire.
Concrete roads gets resin injection to prolong life 12/01/2022 Injecting a 'tough, durable resin' into concrete roads to help extend the pavement life is being trialled on a section of the M180 in North Lincolnshire.
Borough defeats parish in battle over bridge 12/01/2022 Tewkesbury Borough Council has defeated one of its own local parish councils in a court battle over the development of a road bridge over the railway in Ashchurch and Northway.
Andrew Lupton: A community leader, family man and friend 12/01/2022 Mark Dutton, managing director of Safecote Ltd, remembers his friend and fellow founding member of the NSSRG, (National Salt Spreading Research Group) now known as the NWSRG.
Infrared technology to help make repairs more sustainable 12/01/2022 VolkerHighways and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have trialled the use of 'infrared technology' for repairing defects in pavements and roads.
Shapps agrees to pause smart motorways rollout 12/01/2022 Ministers have broadly accepted the recommendations of a report by MPs into smart motorways, including pausing both all-lane running (ALR) schemes that have not started construction and the conversion of dynamic hard shoulder schemes to ALR, and revisiting the case for controlled motorways.
No money to protect river facing 'ecological disaster' after £250m works 11/01/2022 National Highways has been warned that drainage from a bridge that carries the M27 over a river threatens ‘an ecological disaster’ after it said it did not have the cash to carry out improvements.
'Terrible shock' as Andrew Lupton dies 10/01/2022 Winter maintenance company Econ Engineering has announced the sudden and unexpected death of director Andrew Lupton.
Elderkin to lead new National Highways environment team 10/01/2022 National Highways has created a new division for Environmental Sustainability.
Lincolnshire calls on Shapps to reverse highways cuts 07/01/2022 Lincolnshire County Council has called on transport secretary Grant Shapps to return the millions cut from highways maintenance budgets last year, as the council bemoaned a £12m funding gap in its highways service.
Oxfordshire consults on bold plan to cut car use by a third 06/01/2022 Oxfordshire County Council is consulting on a new transport plan, which aims to cut car journeys by 25% by 2030 and reduce them by a third by 2040 as well as increase cycling trips from 600,000 to one million a week by 2031.
National Highways building bridges over infill threat 06/01/2022 Campaigners have welcomed ‘early signs’ that 2022 could see National Highways adopt ‘a more positive and collaborative approach’ to the Historical Railways Estate following an apparent reprieve for a bridge in East Sussex.
Galliford Try names new commercial director 06/01/2022 Galliford Try has appointed Richard Towse as commercial director within its highways business.
Aberdeen junction works blown behind schedule 06/01/2022 The expected completion of the Scottish Government’s £18m A92/A96 Haudagain Improvement has been put back to the spring.
Swift gate 'to modernise road worker protection' 06/01/2022 National Highways is to trial an automatic taper that can close off lanes in minutes on the network.
Leicester aims for workplace parking levy by 2023 06/01/2022 Leicester City Council has announced plans to introduce a workplace parking levy based on the Nottingham model.
Chevron buys Highway Barrier Solutions Ltd 05/01/2022 The Chevron Group has bought Belfast-based Highway Barrier Solutions Ltd (HBS) for an undisclosed fee.
Colas wins £328m Area 9 deal 04/01/2022 Colas has won a contract to manage National Highways' Area 9 network - covering the West Midlands and surrounding counties - worth up to £328m.
New Year's Honours: Full list of roads and transport winners 04/01/2022 Senior figures in the transport sector were awarded some of the top gongs in the Queen's New Year's Honours List this year.
Baroness Vere calls for local Omicron resilience reviews 21/12/2021 Transport minister Baroness Vere has written to all local transport and highway authorities, bus and light rail operators in England asking them to review resilience plans in light of the Omicron variant.
ORR revises level crossing order guidance 21/12/2021 The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has launched a consultation on draft revisions to its guidance on level crossing orders and templates.
M42 to close for Boxing week 16/12/2021 National Highways has reminded drivers that the M42 will be fully closed between junctions 9 and 10 for HS2 works for a week over the festive period.
Shapps delays planning decisions for environmental considerations 16/12/2021 Grant Shapps has delayed making planning decisions for two more major schemes on the strategic road network.
King of the UK tunnel machines passes factory test 16/12/2021 The consortium delivering the controversial Silvertown Tunnel has announced the factory acceptance test of what it said is the largest diameter tunnel boring machine be used in the UK.
Barnet bounces back better with waste tyres 16/12/2021 Barnet Council has said its highways contractor is achieving ‘significant improvements in the sustainability of road resurfacing’ with new asphalt technology that uses rubber waste from tyres and reduces embodied carbon.
Local firm toasts success in A9 advance works 16/12/2021 Transport Scotland is set to award two contracts worth £2.2m for preparatory works ahead of the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project.
Government criticised for plug-in grant cut 16/12/2021 The Government is facing criticism for its decision to cut the plug-in car and van grant by up to £1,000 and change the eligibility criteria.
Campaigners raise alarm at work on 'paused' bridge infilling programme 16/12/2021 Campaigners have accused National Highways of continuing work to prepare for the demolition or infilling of historic rail bridges, despite claiming the programme has been paused.
Viaduct with 'theoretical load capacity of zero' gets repairs cash after seven-year wait 16/12/2021 Ministers have confirmed £72m in funding for essential maintenance work on a key link into Birmingham city centre - though the cash was first provisionally awarded more than seven years ago.
Amey wins £42m ITS contract on Scottish trunk roads 15/12/2021 Amey has secured a new contract worth a potential £42m with Transport Scotland to operate, maintain and upgrade motorway and trunk road technology infrastructure across the whole of the devolved nation.
High Court rejects challenge to Hackney school streets ETOs 13/12/2021 Hackney has successfully defended a legal challenge against two experimental traffic orders (ETOs) it made under its Schools Streets programme.
Balfour on track to drive 'superior returns' 10/12/2021 International infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has said it is ‘on track to deliver a 2021 performance in line with pre-pandemic levels’.
Highways Presents: TotalEnergies 09/12/2021 Highways editor Dominic Browne talks to Gary Schofield, technical manager, and Rick Ashton, market development manager, of the bitumen division at Total Energies.
Line up, line up! It's the RSMA conference 09/12/2021 Only the last few spaces are left for the RSMA Annual Conference and Awards dinner, which will take place on 3 February 2022 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, East Midlands.
ORR to up scrutiny of RIS 3 deliverability 08/12/2021 The Office of Rail and Road plans to increase its scrutiny of future funding for the strategic road network as plans are drawn up for the third road investment strategy.
Council seeks bidders for £40m roads works 08/12/2021 Renfrewshire Council is advertising a framework contract for roads-related maintenance works worth up to £40m.
Derby launches honours course in concrete engineering 07/12/2021 A new qualification in Concrete Pavement and Construction Maintenance launches in January and will be open for enrolment from this month.
Warks gets 'go-to' average speed cameras 07/12/2021 Warwickshire is installing its first average speed schemes in an attempt to improve traffic flows and air quality as well as safety.
Humm to take up 'ideal job' in Gloucestershire 07/12/2021 Gloucestershire County Council has appointed Jason Humm to the role of director of transport and highways.
WJ prepares the ground with JMS acquisition 06/12/2021 Road marking and safety firm WJ Group has acquired surface preparation, retexturing and specialist surface coatings company JMS Lincoln Limited.
SRL bought out by Stock Exchange investment company 06/12/2021 SRL has been bought by 3i Infrastructure plc in a move described as supporting its next phase of growth.
Government launches RIS 3 development process 06/12/2021 The Government has launched the formal engagement process behind National Highways' third multi-billion road investment strategy (RIS 3), outlining six key priority areas for future spending.
Govt gets Highway Code changes underway 'to make roads safer' 03/12/2021 A new hierarchy of road users, where those who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility, has been included in changes to the Highways Code now laid before Parliament.
Transport minister Dey links road pricing with more powers for Scotland 03/12/2021 Road pricing is likely to be necessary for Scotland in the future but cannot be delivered holistically until the Scottish Government has further powers, its transport minister has said.
Junction works deliver 'more intuitive layout' 03/12/2021 National Highways, its contractors and their workers have now completed a scheme to improve journey times on England’s largest gyratory roundabout
Live Labs 2 'will depend on first wave success' 03/12/2021 Approval for a second tranche of the ADEPT Live Labs programme is likely to depend on whether ministers can see any potential for the techniques developed under current pilots.
£200m M5 works now due to finish in 2025 02/12/2021 Gloucestershire County Council has published the contract notice for its M5 Junction 10 Improvements Scheme, valued at £200m.
Three in the hunt for £115m A9 dualling contract 02/12/2021 The Scottish Government has unveiled the shortlist for the next phase of the £3bn A9 dualling project.
Gove's review could spell end of the road for LEPs 02/12/2021 Local Enterprise Partnerships face an uncertain future after local government secretary Michael Gove suggested he was in favour of replacing them with something more democratic.
Connectivity Review calls for centrally managed multi-modal UK network 30/11/2021 The Government should create a centrally managed multi-modal UK network based 'on a series of principal transport corridors', a major new review of the nation's transport has urged.
Labour reshuffle moves Haigh to transport 30/11/2021 Labour's surprise reshuffle has seen Louise Haigh appointed shadow transport secretary, replacing Jim McMahon who is moving to cover the environment, food and rural affairs brief.
Hendy lets PM down easy on £335bn Northern Ireland bridge 29/11/2021 A fixed transport link between Scotland and Northern Ireland will remain a pipe dream after analysis found that it could cost around 22 times Boris Johnson’s estimate.
Liverpool to bring in reinforcements for troubled highways department 26/11/2021 Commissioners brought in to rescue Liverpool City Council's failing services have uncovered further issues with its troubled highways department.
Road sector costs rise by 20% DfT officials told 25/11/2021 Inflation and supply chain pressures have hit the roads sector with 20% cost increases since last year, senior Department for Transport officials have been warned.
ADEPT Conference: Beware the unintended consequences of EVs 25/11/2021 Electric cars will not solve issues of pollution and climate change or tackle the dominance of the vehicles on roads and footways, local government place directors have been told.
TfL warns of bridge and tunnel closures due to funding crisis 24/11/2021 Transport for London (TfL) has warned that London's transport assets, including bridges and tunnels, face closure due to the ongoing multi-billion funding crisis sparked by COVID.
TfL does partial Westway fix amid funding crisis 24/11/2021 Transport for London is to carry out essential maintenance to the A40 Westway between the A40 Northern Roundabout and the Marylebone Road but a second phase of works is currently unfunded.
Portsmouth crossing lights a ‘national first’ 24/11/2021 A zebra crossing in Portsmouth is the first in the UK to benefit from an innovative new lighting system aimed at improving safety.
Road Expo: WSP director outlines decarbonisation priorities 23/11/2021 Speaking ahead of his major speech at next week's Road Expo, Scotland's flagship traffic and transport event, David Symons, WSP's UK director of sustainability, made a rallying cry to the sector and highlighted key steps on the road to net zero.
National Highways appoints first chief road safety adviser 23/11/2021 Professor Nick Reed will work with executive directors and the National Highways board to help achieve zero harm on England’s motorways and major A-roads by 2040.
CECA comment: The changes we need to make a net zero industry 23/11/2021 Marie-Claude Hemming, director of external affairs at The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), discusses the sector-wide agreements needed to support net zero highways.
M3 smart motorway scheme first to be halted 23/11/2021 National Highways has halted work on its M3 smart motorway plans following the Transport Select Committee's call for a pause to the roll-out of the controversial road design.
Highways resilience undermined by wider weaknesses, report finds 18/11/2021 Highway authorities have demonstrated excellent resilience in the face of extreme weather events and disasters. However local leaders are at risk of being undermined by a lack of wider support networks including training, IT and data sharing, a major new Government report has found.
Not any old iron: Shimpac calls for dedicated solutions 17/11/2021 The amount spent on temporary repairs, including specialised work on loose or sunken manhole covers and unsecure highway drains, is a major headache. The team at Shimpac argues that a dedicated ironwork seating system can be the solution.
DfT considering zero carbon Live Labs 2 17/11/2021 The Department for Transport (DfT) is considering plans for a sequel to ADEPT's Live Labs project, following the success of the initial programme of technological trials in local places.
Battle to commence for £730m East Sussex deal 15/11/2021 East Sussex County Council is advertising a contract worth up to £730m over 14 years covering the maintenance, improvement and design of the county’s highways and civil infrastructure.
Q&A: Danny Adamson MD at Stocksigns Messagemaker 15/11/2021 Danny Adamson, managing director at Stocksigns Messagemaker, speaks to Dominic Browne about partnerships and innovation in its specialist LED display work under Messagemaker Displays.
The Insider: Martin Duffy discusses innovation in safety 15/11/2021 According to the Department of Transport, there were over 150,000 casualties in reported road traffic incidents in 2019, and 1,752 of these were fatal - make no mistake, keeping our highways and roads safe is still our most important job.
One more heave on Leeds flyover job 12/11/2021 The final phase of work on the Regent Street Flyover project in Leeds city centre will start next weekend with the installation of the northern bridge beams.
Bear Scotland fights back against Queensferry ice problem 12/11/2021 Bear Scotland has completed major works on both the old Forth Road Bridge and the Queensferry Crossing, including employing specialised coatings and de-icing compounds designed to reduce the risk of bridge closure.
Buckinghamshire tenders £36m consultancy alongside term maintenance 11/11/2021 Buckinghamshire Council is advertising a highways term consultancy services contract valued at £36m over 12 years, to run alongside its forthcoming £300m term maintenance services contract.
Carter Jonas wins £50m estate services contract 11/11/2021 National Highways has awarded a £50m contract for the provision of estate services to Carter Jonas LLP, having originally valued the procurement at £18m.
HVO use continues to grow 11/11/2021 Amey is set to trial biofuels across its highways maintenance fleet in Kent to improve its environmental performance.
National Highways consults on updated £1.3bn A12 scheme 10/11/2021 National Highways has launched a consultation on the latest proposals for its £1.3bn plan to upgrade the A12 in Essex to three lanes.
Manchester calls for zebra crossings on side roads 10/11/2021 Greater Manchester’s mayor and transport commissioner have written to the transport secretary seeking permission for a mass trial of zebra markings at side roads after new evidence showed that they lead to a 65% increase in drivers giving way.
Bristol CAZ will charge private cars from next summer 10/11/2021 Bristol will launch a clean air zone (CAZ) that charges private cars next summer, after several years of avoidance, delays and missed deadlines.
Exclusive: Highways Asks poll shines light on winter service engagement 10/11/2021 An exclusive survey of senior staff in UK winter service gives fresh insight into a proactive sector, keen to engage with the public, with a significant proportion of councils interested in trialling new technologies.
First official report since pandemic shows road conditions in decline 10/11/2021 The first release of official road condition statistics since the pandemic has revealed a decline in standards across major roads in England.
National Highways funds pilot Natural Flood Management schemes 09/11/2021 National Highways has awarded more than £420,000 to 13 Natural Flood Management projects in an initial tranche of flood protection funding.
Dashboard throws light on crash factors 09/11/2021 Telematics technology firm Teletrac Navman has launched an interactive online dashboard that provides insights into the issues that influence road safety.
ORR looking for new Road Expert Panel members 09/11/2021 The Office of Rail and Road is recruiting new members for its Road Expert Panel, which meets four times a year to provide 'insight on highways sector interests and issues'.
75 suppliers win places on £2.5bn TTAS framework 08/11/2021 Jenoptik has won a place on all seven lots of the new £2.5bn Crown Commercial Service Transport Technology and Associated Services Framework.
ORR to increase focus on environmental monitoring 08/11/2021 National Highways' monitor will have an increased focus on environmental issues this year as it assesses whether the strategic roads operator is turning its ambitions into reality.
Long read: National Highways - changing emphasis but not commitment 05/11/2021 Highways England may have rebranded as National Highways but the organisation is still going through its most challenging period to date; safety concerns over smart motorways, climate concerns about new roads, and shifting funding settlements all represent some species of gathering cloud. However, CEO Nick Harris is plotting a course to smoother sailing.

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'Terrible shock' as Andrew Lupton dies

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No money to protect river facing 'ecological disaster' after £250m works

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