Policy
Road-user charging – the answer to everything or nothing? – Ben Plowden and Rich Sallnow, PA Consulting
The funding and decarbonisation of road transport in the UK continues to be a hot topic. The Treasury anticipates a £35 billion hole in the budget owing to lower fuel duty and vehicle excise duty (VED) as the fleet electrifies. But vehicle electrification alone will...
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 how lessons learnt could be applied in the UK The arrival of the Covid19 pandemic in the UK changed everything overnight, not least on our roads. The...
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 the key drivers affecting the highways industry, says Andy Theobald. Providing our clients with long-term solutions means looking ahead, taking a 10 to 20-year time horizon to...
The future of mobility is safer (and how we get there) – Jillian Kowalchuk, Safe and the City
Jillian Kowalchuk, Founder of Safe and the City explains how software and AI can help people feel safer when using the transport network Most people think of Safe & the City as just an app, but that isn’t the full picture. There’s more behind our technologies,...
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 tackling net-zero challenges in the highways sector. Don’t over-complicate the journey to achieving net-zero carbon emissions. We’re living through a period of...
Questions about the value of investment in roads – David Metz, UCL Centre for Transport Studies
David Metz, honorary professor at the UCL Centre for Transport Studies, outlines his suggested actions to inform future investment decisions when looking ahead to Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) The Department for Transport has begun to plan its third Road Investment...
Hydrogen power is coming – let’s keep the Midlands at the heart of UK freight and logistics – Richard Bradley, Midlands Connect
Richard Bradley, Head of Strategy at Midlands Connect, outlines how the Midlands is ready to take the lead on the UK’s clean energy revolution when it comes to hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. Energy prices are sky high right now and I could hardly believe my eyes...
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 at The Civil Engineering Contractors Association, outlines what the future holds for contractors. The Government’s radical proposals for...
ADEPT President Paula Hewitt looks back at the ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs programme
I think it’s fair to say that the ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs Programme has at times been a wild ride. What began as a desktop review into the digital transformation of local roads, became a wide-ranging series of trials that battled through complex procurement...
Achieving zero harm on roads across Europe – challenges for the next five to ten years
Delivering Vision Zero will be challenging and resource intensive. The timeframe for delivery also requires focus on what matters most in reducing the number and severity of casualties says Jeremy Phillips, leader of CEDR’s Working Group on Road Safety The ambition to...
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 Highways Market Director, and we should take inspiration from the transformationl improvements in safety achieved within the sector over the last 20 years Over...
Supporting mental health with ‘One Million Lives’
Fiona O’Donnell, Jacob’s Head of Health, Safety and Environemnt (HSE) outlines her organisation’s efforts to break down the barriers that hinder honest conversations about mental health and encourage an open culture of support around the globe Fiona O'Donnell, Jacobs...
Equity, diversity and inclusion in the highways industry – what does it mean to you?
What does equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) mean to you? asks Rachel Billington Head of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I), Europe at AECOM. Is it a more diverse workforce? Is it flexible working? Getting students interested in STEM? A bid...
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 will be a significant challenge. Getting this right is important and the infrastructure sector, says Stantec’s Dougie McDonald, must actively engage...
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 a heady cocktail of exposure hazards from manual handling to bitumen fumes, the control of workplace health risks has long been the Cinderella to accident...
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 rapid transition to electric vehicles we’ll be talking serious money within a few years. RAC Foundation Director Steve Gooding asks whether now is...
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 the worsening pothole funding crisis. Paul Fleetham, Managing Director of Tarmac Contracting argues that even in the throes of Covid-19,...
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 as Highways Monitor and points to key performance criteria in RIS 2, including a particular focus on proposed efficiency gains I took up my current role with ORR...
Creating a legacy of continuous improvement
Author: Jon Cole, Head of Pavement Efficiency and Productivity, Highways England Our pavement efficiency journey started with a workshop in September 2015 in recognition that the way we delivered pavement needed to contribute significantly to the RIS1 capital...
Putting customers first
Author: Richard Bowen, Highways Stakeholder and Public Liaison Manager, Mott MacDonald As Highways England builds on strong foundations as a construction-led organisation, focusing on the needs and satisfaction of its customers, their supply chain partners are also...
