Latest News

Read all the latest stories on Talking Highways

EY appoints transport ambassador and development specialist Anna Delvecchio as Partner

EY has appointed Anna Delvecchio as a Partner in its expanding Government and Infrastructure consultancy practice in the...

Road-user charging – the answer to everything or nothing? – Ben Plowden

The funding and decarbonisation of road transport in the UK continues to be a hot topic. The Treasury...

Doing things differently with technology and innovation – Keith Smith, Chevron Group

Keith Smith, Chief Engineer for the Chevron Group explains how innovative thinking, digital technology and industry collaboration has...

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – moving from strategy to implementation – Rachel

Empowering people to interpret corporate ED&I strategies within their own workplace context is critical for successful implementation, says...

Covid, the economy, and the Roads Policy Trilemma – Michael Whelan, M6Toll

Michael Whelan, General Manager at M6Toll looks at RUC trials in California, Utah and Washington state, and explains...

Five trends impacting the future of highways – Andy Theobald, Mott MacDonald

If we want our road infrastructure to be fit for the long term, we must keep pace with...

Roadways can handle extreme weather – Jose Javier García Pardenilla, Ferrovial

Jose Javier García Pardenilla, Project Lead at Ferrovial, argues that roads are durable to extreme weather conditions, we...

How to make the best choices for sustainable transport – Alex Walton,

Alex Walton, Director and Product Owner at Arcadis, explains how we can optimise our transport strategies and make...

Making connections happen – Duncan Reed and Stuart Campbell, Trimble

Trimble’s Duncan Reed, Business Development Manager, and Stuart Campbell, Head of Sales and Business Development, explores the value...

Getting the strategic road network ready for autonomous vehicles calls for collaboration

Joanna White, Roads Development Director at National Highways, outlines the importance of collaboration and information sharing to successfully...

The future of mobility is safer (and how we get there) –

Jillian Kowalchuk, Founder of Safe and the City explains how software and AI can help people feel safer...

Technology for a Better Journey – Kristof Harling, TAKELEAP

Kristof Harling, Executive Director at TAKELEAP, outlines the benefits of digital technology within road maintenance.  The Department for...

More zero, less net – Adam Crossley, Skanska

Adam Crossley, Director of Environment at Skanska UK, explains how we need to get back to basics when...

Transforming lives through Social Value – Andrew Stephenson, National Highways

Andrew Stephenson, procurement director at National Highways, reflects on how road schemes can add value to society through...

Innovative and sustainable approaches to concrete road refurbishment – Martyn Sherwood, Metrail

Martyn Sherwood, managing director at Metrail Construction, talks through sustainable methods to road maintenance taken from Germany's Autobahn...

Hitting the bridge deck running as the new kid on the National

Rob Cook, Civils & Infrastructure Director at Winvic, talks about their delivery strategy and projects ahead of exhibiting...

Could 5G connectivity be the changemaker technology for road safety? – Dr

Dr Dimitrios Kaltakis, 5G and connectivity lead at WSP, outlines how network operators, vehicle manufacturers, and road operators...

Investing in digitisation offers great added value – Thomas Leopoldseder, Q Point

Thomas Leopoldseder, CEO of Q Point, unpacks the potential of digital solutions within the road construction process. Through...

Do standards stifle innovation? – Andy Fish, 3M

Andy Fish, technical specialist for 3M's Transportation Safety Division, looks at how to encourage innovation in a regulated...

Inclusive Infrastructure Solutions – Mathew Haslam, Hardscapes

Mathew Haslam, managing director at Hardscape outlines their extensive product range with the UK’s largest selection of Connectivity...

Attracting new labour into highways – Ben Rawding, JCB

Ben Rawding from JCB stresses the importance of new technologies to tackle the labour shortages and attract new...

Could innovations in wireless communications be the key to better roadworker safety?

Brooke Wood from dDB Communications emphasises the need for investment in wireless communications to improve roadworker safety. Every...

Urban Trees, Highways and Utilities – Hannah Cook, GreenBlue Urban

Hannah Cook at GreenBlue Urban emphasises the importance of green infrastructure within the road network as towns and...

Delivering cleaner and fairer transport for Oxfordshire – Duncan Enright

Councillor Duncan Enright, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Travel and Development Strategy, looks at the future of...

The road to gender balance – Sonya Byers, Women in Transport

Sonya Byers, CEO of Women in Transport, outlines the gender bias and stereotyping still present in the transport...

How mobility hubs and shared transport can play a key role in

Richard Dilks, Chief Executive at CoMoUK, explains how mobility hubs and shared transport schemes can play a significant...

Is health, safety and wellbeing really protecting our worker’s health? – Steve

Steve Perkins, Managing Director at Steve Perkins Associates, unpacks the big picture of workplace health and argues the...

“Bringing the environment into the picture” – How local authorities can add

Andy Peart outlines how local authorities can utilise tech and data to inform their highways asset management decisions...

The real cost of electric cars – Claire Walters, Bus Users UK

Claire Walters, chief executive of Bus Users UK, emphasises the importance of proper planning and infrastructure to prioritise...

Questions about the value of investment in roads – David Metz, UCL

David Metz, honorary professor at the UCL Centre for Transport Studies, outlines his suggested actions to inform future...

Hydrogen power is coming – let’s keep the Midlands at the heart

Richard Bradley, Head of Strategy at Midlands Connect, outlines how the Midlands is ready to take the lead...

Delivering 21st century roads – Marie-Claude Hemming, The Civil Engineering Contractors Association

From the cost of materials to the impact of legislation and foreign tensions, Marie-Claude Hemming, director of operations...

ADEPT President Paula Hewitt looks back at the ADEPT SMART Places Live

Paula Hewitt, President, ADEPT I think it’s fair to say that the ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs Programme...
Embedding a decarbonisation culture

Embedding a decarbonisation culture into the highways sector

We need to see a cultural change towards approaches to carbon, says John Dixon, Jacobs’ Vice President and...
Making a difference for our customers

Making a difference for our customers

National Highway’s puts customers at the core of everything it does. And it’s vital, says Customer Experience Director...
Smart cities need smart highways and roads

Smart cities need smart highways and roads

Transport is one of the main contributors to carbon emissions in London and to meet the Mayor’s ambitious...
road user charging

Road User Charging – Status Today, Preparing for Tomorrow

Road use charging is back on the agenda. While the economic and environmental arguments stack up, public acceptability...
Vehicle sensor data

How vehicle sensor data is underpinning a revolution in road safety

Steve Birdsall, CEO of Gaist, provider of roadscape insight and intelligence services, explains the very real possibility of...
Health risks in highways

The hidden pandemic – workplace health risks in highways

Covid-19 has thrown the issue of workplace health into the spotlight. But in the highways sector, which has...
Taxing motorists

Time to consider a new system of taxing motorists?

Subsidising low emission vehicles is creating an increasingly large hole in HM Treasury’s coffers. And with the expected...
National Pothole Day

Why National Pothole Day matters in the age of Covid-19

This year’s National Pothole Day secured coverage across national print and broadcast media, putting a much-needed spotlight on...
Highway monitor

Looking back and moving forward… ORR’s role as the Highways Monitor

Feras Alshaker, Deputy Director Roads, Office of Road and Rail, ponders how 2020 has impacted on its role...
Using AI to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on our Highways

Using AI to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on our Highways

Author: Peter Mildon - COO and Co-Founder, Vivacity Labs Peter Mildon, COO and Co-Founder of Vivacity Labs, has...
Building an electric vehicle charging grid for all

Building an electric vehicle charging grid for all

If everyone is to benefit from the coming EV revolution, city authorities urgently need to lead a collaborative...
Creating a legacy of continuous improvement

Creating a legacy of continuous improvement

Technical excellence and true collaboration lie at the core of the pavement efficiencies achieved across the different delivery...
A new source of road construction data

A new source of road construction data

Pell Frischmann is working with the pioneering tech company Datumate which has developed market-leading drone and project cloud...
Putting customers first

Putting customers first

Richard Bowen explains how a new and improved relationship between the highways sector and its customers can benefit...
Never, never, never give up

Never, never, never give up

Karla Jakeman, Innovation Lead for Connected Transport at Innovate UK explains the process of selecting the many excellent...
Connecting the Constructors

Connecting the Constructors

As a manufacturer looking in at the industry, we see wonderful pockets of innovation that are beginning to...
It’s time to get to grips with digital

It’s time to get to grips with digital

While the construction industry agrees that digital ways of working should be at the heart of everything we...
Future mobility, made possible

Future mobility, made possible

By 2050, more than two thirds of the world's population will live in cities, and this rapid rise...

Myth busting in the freight industry

Planners, government and decision makers need to have a thorough understanding of the freight sector. But day in...

Help us hack the highways by better exploiting the value of data

In an age where we collect more data than ever, are you making the most of the opportunities?...

UK Connected and Automated Mobility Roadmap to 2030

The UK Connected and Automated MobilityRoadmap to 2030, launched this week by Zenzic, the government-backed organisation set up...

The role of roads on the road to net-zero carbon emissions

Every business needs to understand its net-zero emissions target. Adam Crossley, head of environment and strategy at Skanska...

You can’t do Big Data if you can’t do Small Data

If you can't do Small Data efficiently and effectively now, asks Brian Fitzpatrick, how do you think you'll...

Does your business have a digitalisation strategy?

As the industry shifts from delivering transport to delivering mobility we need to explore progress by the sector...

Helping demystify the innovation support landscape

If you are a technology innovator and seeking support, it's not always obvious who you should be talking...

Why language matters in the self-driving revolution

Is it "automated" or "autonomous" driving - or neither? Daniel Ruiz, chief executive of Zenzic (formerly Meridian Mobility)...

Transport Technology Forum 2.0 hits the ground running

The Transport Technology Forum has relaunched as a joint Department for Transport and Innovate UK entity with the...

Invest today to deliver the highway infrastructure of tomorrow

The strategic road network is relied upon by the vast majority of the country's population, and with a...

The vital ingredients for successful asset management

The public have understandably high expectations of our first-world country's infrastructure, expectations that are not met by the...

Joining up the good work

James Haluch, Amey's highways managing director sets out the thinking behind the company's Vision 2030 as a coherent...

The EV opportunity

Ross Fairley, head of the Burges Salmon Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicle teams, reflects on the infrastructure to...

Change is in the air for logistics

The contribution of heavy goods vehicles on air quality has shot up the agenda following publication of the...

Transforming the narrative for better local roads

A new report from the Local Government Technical Advisors Group (LGTAG) offers fresh thinking that applies technology and...

Listening to the road user

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus, looks forward to the launch at Highways UK of the Strategic...

Delivering an end-to-end approach to asset renewal

Highways networks are often local authorities' biggest asset, yet in recent times councils across the UK have struggled...

Six steps to closing the UK infrastructure funding gap

There's plenty of private money seeking investment opportunities, so the infrastructure sector needs to step up to make...

Enabling emerging transport technology and intelligent mobility

Public and private sector collaboration is helping to shape the transport of tomorrow, says Brian Wong of Burges...

Taking a Human Factors Approach to Intelligent Mobility

Understanding human issues is vital to realising the benefits of new intelligent mobility technologies and service models, says...

Do you want to challenge the highways sector to change?

CECA, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, is launching its Change Infrastructure: Highwaysprogramme as an integral element of Highways...

Pondering a life without roads

When it come to the future there is one constant and that is change. The highway industry must...

Connecting new technologies with clients proves an impetus for investment and innovation

Highways UK will be opening entries for the Costain-sponsored 2018 Intelligent Infrastructure Hub (Costain IIH) Challenge next month...

Where we’re going we DO need roads!

Road transport is facing many potential future challenges, but that must not be a reason to take an...

Connecting the South East

Transport for the South East (TfSE) is to launch its economic connectivity review at a one-day conference at...

Reaping the benefits of platooning trials

A year from now we'll understand if something quite extraordinary is feasible on the UK's dual carriageways and...

What to do about traffic jams?

We have seen great improvements in incident detection and speed of response and recovery, but the next big...

Can wearable tech tell us the things we don’t often get round

The industry owes a duty of care to ensure site teams are monitored, supported and reviewed - and...

A greener vision for major roads: will RIS2 rise to the challenge?

What kind of strategic road network do we need for a sustainable future? Bridget Fox from Campaign for...

Integrating technology solutions into an ageing infrastructure

Technology is changing the world but too often we start with the solution without fully considering the outcome...

Getting from A to B, regardless of transport mode

We cannot continue to think of road, rail and other transport networks as self-contained, albeit interlocking systems, but...

Improving road safety for both road workers and road users

Driving for Better Business is a road safety campaign with a difference, one where road safety is the...

Technology will have a bigger impact on the highways sector than Brexit

The key findings of the inaugural FITZ Index survey suggest that technology and automation will have a more...

Are you really listening?

Being listened to and feeling that you are being heard is of huge importance to all of us...

‘Autopilot’ Tesla fatality is a reminder to pace and structure autonomous car

The first fatality in a Tesla car in Autopilot merits reflection. But the robust and cautious testing and...

Road pricing, past, present and future

Governments world-wide have been slow to implement road charging on a large scale, mainly through fears that it...

No post found

Talking Highways

Follow us!

Resources

Newsletter

Events