In partnership with Transport Scotland, Road Expo Scotland and Bridges Scotland return to the SEC Glasgow on 24-25 November, with cabinet secretary Stephen Flynn MSP delivering the keynote address. Registration is now open here and completely FREE.
Scotland's roads sector is moving into one of its busiest delivery periods in years. The £3.97bn A9 dualling programme is progressing alongside the A83 at Rest and Be Thankful, the A96 Inverness to Aberdeen corridor and the Sheriffhall Interchange works. At the same time, local authorities are managing ageing networks under sustained financial challenges, and the sector faces parallel demands to decarbonise, adapt to more severe weather and address a deepening skills shortage.
This backdrop has influenced the shape of the Road Expo Scotland and Bridges Scotland conferences as well as the exhibition floor, which has seen a major expansion to accommodate increasing demand. Both events are run in association with Transport Scotland, and Scottish transport secretary Stephen Flynn MSP is confirmed as the keynote speaker on the Wednesday morning. This extends the long-running tradition of the Scottish Government's most senior transport voice attending the show, underlining the political weight that is attached to how Scotland delivers its roads programme.
The exhibitor line-up represents the breadth of the supply chain. Traffic management and ITS suppliers including Swarco, Yunex Traffic and Clearview Intelligence sit alongside materials and surfacing specialists such as Concrete Canvas and Rhino Asphalt; asset management and digital inspection providers including Gaist and Vaisala; road marking specialist MSC; and decarbonisation specialists such as Beyond Batteries and the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads.
Major contractors and trunk road operators – Amey, BEAR Scotland, AE Yates and Carnell Scotland – will be in attendance as well. There is also a growing number of consultancies taking part in the event, including Arup, Atkins Realis, WSP and Pell Frischmann. Meanwhile, dedicated vehicle and plant exhibits give suppliers of larger equipment a place on the show floor for the first time this year.
Transport Scotland is stepping up its presence, with a larger networking lounge showcasing national priorities and procurement opportunities, staffed by senior representatives. Lawrence Shackman, director of the Infrastructure Projects Directorate, and Hugh Gillies, director of road delivery and operations, will speak directly to delivery and procurement priorities as part of the programme this year, giving exhibitors and visitors a direct line into how national investment decisions are being made.
‘Road Expo Scotland has become one of the most direct ways we engage with the industry in Scotland,' says Mr Gillies.
‘Being on the ground for both days, and taking part in the conversations happening in the sessions and on the stands, gives us a clearer picture of what the supply chain needs from us – and a chance to be upfront about the priorities and opportunities coming through the programme.'
Key themes
Longstanding theatre sponsor WSP is supporting this year's two-day, CPD-accredited Road Expo conference programme, running across 10 panel and keynote sessions and six technology showcase talks.
The programme is structured around five themes drawn from what the sector says matters most right now:
Delivering Scotland's Roads – projects, investment and supply chain: The practical delivery of the national infrastructure programme and how the public and private sector can collaborate more effectively.
Managing and maintaining the network under pressure: The day-to-day reality for Scotland's roads teams – ageing assets, investment under pressure and the tools and approaches helping councils and operators do more with less.
Innovation and technology driving smarter, more resilient roads: AI-driven asset management, ITS, digital traffic management and telematics, and the practical applications moving from pilot to mainstream across the network.
Net zero, climate resilience and sustainable roads: Low-carbon materials and Live Labs 2 evidence, whole-life carbon costing, climate-resilient design and what procurement for net zero looks like on the ground.
Enabling safer roads and a stronger workforce: Reducing collisions through data and technology, protecting road workers, the 20mph rollout, addressing skills shortages and advancing EDI to build the workforce Scotland's roads sector needs.
Mike Malyon, conference producer, says: ‘We've built this year's programme directly around what the industry told us – from the realities of delivering the A9 to the pressure councils are under to do more with less.
‘Working closely with Transport Scotland from the earliest planning stages has meant we can put genuinely current, evidence-led content on stage, rather than a generic events programme.'
Who's speaking
Kevin Hamilton, Scotland's Road Works Commissioner, will discuss the issue of co-ordinating roadworks to protect bus services, which sits at the centre of how disruption across the network is managed.
Mary Mitchell, chief procurement officer at Scotland Excel, will discuss practical procurement for Scotland's roads, drawing on his organisation's role running collaborative procurement contracts for councils.
Carlyn Fraser, interim head of network management and enforcement at City of Edinburgh Council, joins a panel talk on the subject of enhancing safety across Scotland's roads.
Darren Capes, president of the Institute of Highway Engineers, looks at roads as a career and inspiring the next generation.
Lewis Barlow, head of profession for decarbonisation at WSP, joins a panel on net zero and climate adaptation, with a focus on what's changing on the ground.
Philip McKay, head of road and infrastructure, environment and infrastructure services at Aberdeenshire Council, presents Back to Black – Aberdeenshire's approach to winter readiness and climate resilience.
As Live Labs 2 progresses through its final year, programme director Giles Perkins will present on the evidence and experience drawn from the low carbon road projects.
Bridges Scotland
Bridges Scotland this year will put Scotland's ageing bridge stock under its lens. The conference programme Bridges Under Pressure: Resilience, Monitoring & Next-Generation Solutions was developed with the support of ICE Scotland, the Institute of Highway Engineers, the Bridge Owners' Forum and Transport Scotland.
Its exhibition spans structural monitoring and inspection specialists such as RIEGL UK and Sensequake, bearings and expansion joint suppliers including Freyssinet and Maurer and access specialists such as Layher. Returning headline theatre sponsor Acrow, whose modular permanent and temporary bridging systems are used on projects worldwide, continues its long-standing support of the conference theatre.
Ray Clark, exhibition director, concludes: ‘What we're seeing on the exhibitor floor is a direct read on where the industry's attention is right now – delivery, decarbonisation and digital tools, and increasingly the people needed to deliver all three.
‘Our job is to make sure the right suppliers and the right buyers are in the room together, and this year that's meant extending the floorplan to keep pace with demand.'
