From the beginning of April, the Highways Agency will be no more. Taking its place will be Highways England, a government-owned company, that is making some big promises for the future of our road network.
With a budget of £11 billion to be used on England’s 4,300 miles of motorways/major A roads (plus 16,000 structures), the agency is promising that for every £1 it spends, it will generate £4 for the wider economy. A big claim then – but how is the agency planning to pull it off?
First, there will be 112 improvements made to our roads in the next five years including a commitment to increasing the capacity of existing motorways by 280 miles plus the introduction of ‘mini motorways’. Other commitments include a drive to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads by 40%, the introduction of 200 new cycling facilities plus plans to resurface much of the major road network.
This latter point will be a sticking point for many of us who regularly find ourselves gridlocked in traffic thanks to maintenance works but Highways England has said that any maintenance will be properly scheduled to reduce the impact on drivers, and has backed-up its claim by promising to have at least 97% of the road network open at all times. The agency is also promising to use low-noise surfacing at 1,150 locations to reduce noise pollution.
The launch of Highways England is an incredibly significant moment for those who rely on England’s motorways and major A roads. As well as delivering the biggest investment in major roads since the 1970s, there will be fundamental changes to the way motorways and major A roads are maintained and operated. We will be focusing on customers, providing better travel information before and during journeys, improving safety and reducing the impact of roadworks.”
– Graham Dalton, chief executive of Highways England.
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