Kiely Bros contracts director Keith Brett has taken over as chair of the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA).

Ministers have announced £200m for new active travel cycling schemes across England.

Plans to introduce a clean air zone (CAZ) in Newcastle and Gateshead are to be postponed to allow more time for people and businesses to get ready.

Cornwall Council is reducing the speed limit on hundreds of residential roads from 30mph to 20mph.

The Queen's speech outlined the Government's plans to reform procurement law and establish the UK Infrastructure Bank in legislation with objectives to support economic growth and the delivery of net zero'.

A new National Highways report on smart motorways details further improvements to the controversial roads but reveals that all lane running (ALR) schemes still raise safety concerns.

National Highways has successfully removed one of two old bridges across the M6 at Junction 10, as part of a £78m upgrade.

Kier Highways Solutions will be taking delivery of four new road emulsion sprayers in time for the surface dressing season.

FM Conway has announced two new appointments to its senior leadership team.  

Newport City Council has agreed to pay the extra costs for the Transporter Bridge transformation project after the original contractors went into administration.

Keltbray has appointed Tim Barber as project director for its Highways Division.

The UK only accredited course for winter services decision-makers and managers launches in May.

Derby City Council has approved formal collaboration with two other authorities to secure £50m of central government cash towards a major road scheme.

Grant Shapps has told MPs that he does not know whether National Highways includes slip roads within its definition of emergency refuge areas (EAs) for the purpose of providing a minimum spacing on smart motorways.

The Roads and Highways Industry Forum (RHIF) - an alliance of industry bodies - has highlighted ongoing supply chain issues, stating that lead times for some parts have reached 12 months.

Officials at Tees Valley Combined Authority are to carry out a study into the possibility of building a road tunnel connecting Hartlepool and Redcar under the River Tees.

A major survey has revealed that the traffic signals maintenance backlog in England could total more than £80m and cost authorities over £6m annually in fault repairs.

Derbyshire County Council has awarded Aggregate Industries a contract worth £6.5m to carry out resurfacing work over the next year and is seeking bidders for further work worth a total of £24m.

The UK’s 'first full-sized autonomous bus' will take to the roads in Scotland this week as live testing begins for project CAVForth.

Bridges specialist Spencer Group is to cantilever a temporary walkway off the side of what is itself a historic cantilever bridge while it carries out major deck replacement works.

National Highways has awarded Kier a £460m contract to Kier to design and deliver a ‘landscape-led’ upgrade to the A417 between Gloucester and Swindon.

West Sussex County Council has launched a county-wide road safety review, including looking at speed limits and traffic management.

Wiltshire County Council has published the contract notice for a new highways term maintenance deal that could be worth up to £300m over 10 years.

A senior Department for Transport official has played down the possibility that city regions will divert government cash intended for road repairs to pay for their plans to improve bus services.

The Department for Transport has released its promised local authority decarbonisation toolkit providing advice on how to reduce transport carbon emissions across a range of areas.

National Highways will shortly embark on scoping the next generation of its groundbreaking Severe Weather Information System and has unveiled a raft of new features that could be added to the platform.

Transport Scotland’s Multi-Agency Response Team for planned and unplanned incidents on the trunk road network is undergoing a fundamental review ‘from start to finish’ for the first time in a decade.

Key figures in the sector have called on highway authorities to move on from using trials as a way of circumventing procurement rules and turn carbon reduction innovations into business as usual.

Environmental activists have invited West London residents to imagine the ‘fantastic possibilities that could be in store’ if Hammersmith Bridge remained permanently closed to motor traffic.

Work has started to create a new junction providing direct access to the M9 for communities in West Lothian as part of a £40m package of works fully funded by a developer.

Ministers have announced a second, UK-wide round of the ADEPT Live Labs programme, with a particular focus on making the construction, maintenance and running of the country's roads more sustainable.

National Highways has unveiled its latest detailed safety assessment of the entire strategic road network, revealing that progress has been made in boosting safe travel between 2015 and 2020, although a key pledge was missed.

The RAC has called on the Government to improve its guidance to councils on yellow box junctions to avoid thousands of drivers being wrongly fined.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has written to local authority chief executives to launch a pilot £10m competitive bidding scheme to boost local electric vehicle infrastructure.

The Scottish Government has named the preferred bidders for two maintenance contracts covering trunk roads in the north of the country, worth more than £1.27bn in total.

Aggregate Industries has appointed Thomas Edgcumbe to its executive committee as managing director for surfacing solutions, with overall responsibility for its newly combined asphalt and contracting divisions.

The Welsh Government has named the panel of independent commissioners who will recommend ‘how to build a sustainable and integrated transport system for North Wales’.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has written to local authority chief executives to launch a pilot £10m competitive bidding scheme to boost local electric vehicle infrastructure.

The RAC has called on the Government to improve its guidance to councils on yellow box junctions to avoid thousands of drivers being wrongly fined.

FM Conway has been awarded £6m of carriageway and footway work for West Sussex County Council.

National Highways could use some of the £390m pledged to retrofit emergency areas (EAs) on smart motorways to install a new type of place to stop on locations such as slip roads, Highways can reveal.

Twelve areas in England will share grants totalling nearly £200m to help fund zero emission buses and charging or fuelling infrastructure.

Contractors and suppliers have warned that highway maintenance schemes could be delayed this season as a result of supply challenges and spiralling costs.

The Department for Transport has unveiled a national strategy for expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure in England with the target of reaching at least 300,000 public chargepoints by 2030.

Vehicle specialist Acklea has urged councils and contractors to save money by adapting gritting vehicles to be used for traffic management in the spring and summer.

The Department for Transport will fund one-third of the costs to carry out vital stabilisation work on Hammersmith Bridge, ministers have announced as they unveiled a multi-million pound funding package.

In a sign of the drastic financial situation the bus sector faces, plans to improve services in South Yorkshire alone depend on hundreds of millions of pounds of government funding that the region is unlikely to secure, it has emerged.

The first ever female chair of ADEPT’s Transport and Connectivity Board has said she hopes her achievement will give confidence to young people coming into the sector to progress their careers.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a temporary 12-month cut to fuel duty of 5p per litre in his Spring Statement, worth £2.4bn, but was heavily criticised for not going further to ease the cost of living crisis.

The cost of the 'pothole backlog’ across England and Wales has jumped by nearly 25% in the last 12 months from £10.24bn to £12.64bn, in a major warning sign of the devastating impact of inflation on the highways sector.

A senior MP has challenged the transport secretary over a select committee request for smart motorway emergency areas (EAs) to be closer together after it emerged a key safety pledge could be watered down.

National Highways is seeking bidders for a Pavement Delivery Framework valued at £1.3bn over five years.

National Highways has invited shortlisted bidders to tender for the £1.9bn contracts to build the connecting roads and other infrastructure for the Lower Thames Crossing, six months after announcing the shortlist.

National Highways has been accused of backtacking on key commitments from ministers regarding the distance between emergency refuge areas on smart motorways.

As flooding risks rise, the highways sector is facing increasing calls to tackle the 'dangerous cocktail' of pollutants caused by road run-off into watercourses, with MPs and campaigners raising the alarm.

Campaigners have warned that the bus sector is facing another round of big cuts to services or cash earmarked for improving local buses being diverted to prop up services that are not viable.

The Scottish Government has insisted that it provides enough funding for councils after the cost of repairing the country’s local roads was estimated at almost £1.7bn.

Essex County Council has responded to attempts by Sir Rod Stewart to repair potholes near his home by warning that people who take matters into their own hands ‘are putting themselves and others at risk’.

Amey has begun its new contract to operate, maintain and upgrade motorway and trunk road technology infrastructure across Scotland, worth up to £42m.

Transport Scotland has consulted the Norwegian Government on options for a long-term solution for the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful and has invited five consultants to tender for the next stage of the project.

The Department for Transport has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the rules around traffic regulation orders (TROs), including creating digital TROs.

England’s Economic Heartland has appointed Naomi Green as its new managing director.

ADEPT and the Future Highways Research Group (FHRG), led by Proving Services, recently launched a guidance document to help tackle the challenging issue of ensuring consistent carbon measurement and reporting. Simon Wilson, FHRG research programme director, explains.

Highways meets the team at Highway Care to find out about the amazing work this company is doing to promote a diverse workforce and make the sector a home, and a place of opportunity for everyone.

UK producers of construction and industrial mineral products have called on chancellor Rishi Sunak to delay the end of the red diesel rebate.

The giant Stagecoach Group has failed in its attempt to block plans for bus franchising in Greater Manchester.

Ministers have cut the working hours expected of a new chair of HS2 Ltd as the Department for Transport relaunched attempts to replace Allan Cook, who left the role last summer.

Road safety campaign Driving for Better Business is teaming up with not-for-profit group Women in Transport and marking International Women’s Day by launching a year of videos, podcasts and features.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone could be expanded across all London boroughs by 2023.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Minister for Roads, Buses and Places, DfT will give a keynote address live in the Transport Network Theatre at Traffex Parkex at the NEC on the event’s opening morning, Tuesday 14th June.

Cumbria County Council has decided to drop its legal challenge after losing its second High Court bid for a judicial review of planned local government reorganisation in the county.

National Highways has signed three new weather forecasting contracts worth a total of £4m with the Met Office, DTN and MetDesk.

Plans have been unveiled to extend the Zero Emission Zone in Oxford from the current pilot area to cover the entire city centre.

Regional transport body Midlands Connect has released a report outlining a raft of improvements to the A50/A500 corridor that it would like to see funded through the next and future Road Investment Strategies.

As flooding risks rise, the highways sector is facing increasing calls to tackle the 'dangerous cocktail' of pollutants caused by road run-off into watercourses, with MPs and campaigners raising the alarm.

Official modelling has mapped the increasing vulnerability of Scotland's trunk road network to extreme weather, with the number of sections 'most exposed' to high winds set to rise by 300% by 2030, while flooding risks could more than double.

The A487 Caernarfon and Bontnewydd bypass has been completed ahead of time and opened to traffic but was briefly closed within hours following a crash.

A new 37-metre-long footbridge over the A63, part of a £355m investment into Hull city centre, is set to be winched into place.

Crossrail Ltd has still not ruled out opening the central section of the new cross-London railway next month, it has emerged.

National Highways has offered no firm solution to illegal levels of air pollution on the national network at as many 17 sites, suggesting only the take-up of cleaner vehicles can bring air quality within legally binding limits.

Kirklees Council has approved an additional £10m to tackle improvements on its 895-mile network of unclassified roads.

Network Rail has awarded a £130m major design and delivery contract to Alstom as part of a wider £194m investment for the renewal of the signalling systems in the Cambridge area.

North East transport body Nexus has warned that some bus services in Newcastle and North Tyneside will be lost next month, despite a £4.5m rescue package.

Transport for London (TfL) will no longer require passengers to wear face coverings on its services but will ‘strongly encourage’ them to do so.

The first large scale study of how modern road markings react with typical road surfaces has thrown up some bad news, some good news and some controversial issues.

A new 37-metre-long footbridge over the A63, part of a £355m investment into Hull city centre, is set to be winched into place.

At the time of Salisbury rail crash last Autumn, in which one train appears to have skidded into another, work to clean the rails of leaf debris had been delayed because of weekend engineering works, it has emerged.

Campaigners have called for Network Rail and the wider rail industry to work together to install tactile surfaces on platforms by 2025 after it emerged that funding has been provided for the work.

National Highways has launched a review of innovations in transport modelling, together with a survey to gather information and opinions from the sector.

Stabilisation works under the Hammersmith Bridge Restoration Project will start this month, the Council has announced.

A £1.15bn PFI contract notice for highways services in Birmingham has been published, launching one of the largest procurement races in local government roads.

The collapse into administration of contractor Midas Group has hit a programme of public realm projects in south west England.

Salford City Council has awarded a raft of contractors a place on a £40m framework. 

Significant progress has been made by the team putting together the eagerly anticipated conference for this year’s Traffex Parkex. While the preliminary programme is yet to be announced, Traffextra has enjoyed a sneak preview ahead of its publication.

Transport for London (TfL) could 'in effect' declare itself bankrupt if it doesn't secure a long-term funding settlement with the Government, the London mayor's office has warned.

National Highways closed major bridges and a number of roads on the strategic network on Friday morning, while rail services were expected to be significantly disrupted across England, Scotland and Wales.

National Highways has been accused of backtacking on key commitments from ministers regarding the distance between emergency refuge areas on smart motorways.

Councils have warned that nearly a third of bus services will be axed unless emergency funding is extended beyond the end of March.

Cumbria County Council has finalised and published a transport infrastructure plan for the next 15 years, despite being slated for abolition.

Skills experts Seetec Outsource is working with Breedon Group to tackle the HGV driver shortage by attracting younger drivers for more urban route work.

The Welsh Government has announced a new commission that will develop a pipeline of transport schemes for North Wales.

Kier's new surface dressing and bituminous product manufacturing business is off to a flying start, scooping a year-long contract with Derbyshire County Council.

Bitumen supplier Nynas has hailed its new streamlined operations following a restructure that merged the Nordic, UK and Western European businesses into a single organisation.

Highways gets an exclusive briefing on how an upgrade on the M4 has led to the launch of a unique collaborative training programme in bridge engineering.

Skanska is trialling an 'industry-first low carbon-reinforced concrete solution' on a major National Highways scheme.

Former Kier Highways managing director Dave Wright has joined Thermal Road Repairs as an executive adviser.

Lincolnshire County Council is proposing an additional 2% rise in council tax to help fill a £12m gap in highway maintenance funding.

All National Highways regions are currently performing ‘well below’ its target level for the accuracy and timeliness of notifications of overnight road closures, according to its monitor.

The UK’s second-largest train operator has used National Apprenticeship Week to urge Generation X to consider applying to its ‘industry-leading’ apprenticeship scheme.

Oxfordshire County Council has approved an £8m budget to support its 20mph speed limit roll-out.

Scottish transport minister Jenny Gilruth has offered ‘a national conversation’ on the future of the country’s rail services as she confirmed the transition of ScotRail into public ownership on 1 April.

'For nothing was simply one thing.'

Transportation robotics company Superpedestrian is to deploy its AI-based safety system across its LINK e-scooter fleets, including those that are part of government-backed trials in the UK.

The Scottish Government has said a new grant will help maintain bus services while passenger numbers recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Transportation robotics company Superpedestrian is to deploy its AI-based safety system across its LINK e-scooter fleets, including those that are part of government-backed trials in the UK.

Colas UK Projects Ltd has won an £18m contract with Kent County Council for the construction of the rapid bus transit system, Dover Fastrack.

County and rural councils will see their funding for road maintenance fall by nearly £500m by April this year, new analysis has warned.

New housing developments on greenfield land are locking local communities into car dependency, a report has argued.

National Highways failed to renew the traffic order for a weight restriction on the M48 Severn Bridge when it expired three years ago and has since operated the essential safety measure without statutory authorisation.

MPs have backed a move towards road pricing to avert a £35bn black hole in the public finances.

The Government’s announcement of new funding to improve bus services is in tatters after it emerged that no cash has been allocated, even to councils that have been promised funding.

South Western Railway (SWR) has contradicted a claim by the prime minister that its timetable will return to last December’s pre-Omicron levels in a fortnight, thanks to the lobbying of a Tory MP.

The most eagerly anticipated event of 2022 will undoubtedly be the return of Traffex / Parkex to Birmingham’s NEC from 14-16th June.

Hampshire County Council has said it is the first highway authority in the country to trial ‘plant-based’ plastic bollards.

Legal experts have called for a new Automated Vehicles Act to draw a clear distinction between genuine self-driving features and those that merely assist drivers, such as adaptive cruise control.

Major changes to the Highway Code came into force on 29 January for all types of road users 'to improve the safety of people walking, cycling and riding horses'.

Plans to charge polluting vehicles to drive in the Greater Manchester area have been referred back to government by local leaders following a wave of protests.

Chris Holmes, transport programme director at West Midlands 5G, explores the many ways in which connectivity can revolutionise our transport systems.

Econ Engineering will be supplying gritters to all three contractors awarded framework agreements to keep London’s roads ice and snow free.

Improving transport links between towns and cities is key to the post-COVID recovery and could save the UK’s ailing high streets, local leaders argued yesterday.

BAM Infra has converted an asphalt spreader into what it says is the world's first fully electrically version of the plant.

AA president Edmund King OBE has called for more ‘cops in cars’ as progress tackling death rates on UK roads has plateaued over the last decade.

Former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman has become the national commissioner of the Government’s new cycling and walking body, Active Travel England, which launched on 24 January.

A long-standing Tory commitment to have ‘fully self-driving cars’ on UK roads by last year has not been met, the Government has admitted.

Department for Transport figures have revealed that around £900,000 was spent on a study commissioned by prime minister Boris Johnson on his plans to build a fixed link between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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.

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.

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.

Wendy Norton MP has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport (DfT), taking up a ministerial vacancy left by Chris Heaton-Harris.

London’s deputy mayor for transport, Heidi Alexander, has stepped down after three and a half years at City Hall and will leave the post in January.

The Government has confirmed an extension of its funding support for Transport for London (TfL) until 4 February.

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.

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.

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.

Transport Scotland is set to award two contracts worth £2.2m for preparatory works ahead of the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project.

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.

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.

Grant Shapps has delayed making planning decisions for two more major schemes on the strategic road network.

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.

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.

Rail fares will go up by 3.8% for next year, with the changes coming into force from March, the Government has announced.

The Department for Transport (DfT) will delay any major rail fare reforms until the introduction of Great British Railways in 2023.

The Department for Transport has been forced to apologise after staff held a Christmas Party with 'boozing and dancing' during last year's lockdown.

The Government has confirmed the release of £35m of Local Growth Fund cash for a park and ride scheme and walking, cycling and bus improvements on the A40 in Oxfordshire, which it described as part of ‘plans to build back greener from the pandemic’.

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.

Hackney has successfully defended a legal challenge against two experimental traffic orders (ETOs) it made under its Schools Streets programme.

Taxpayers forked out four-fifths of the £21bn cost of running Britain’s railways as fare revenue fell by £8.6bn from the previous year due to lockdowns and other impacts of the pandemic.

Business and civic leaders in the North have called for metro mayors to be given more powers over transport infrastructure, education and skills to drive the ‘levelling-up’ agenda.

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.

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.

The Scottish Government has unveiled the shortlist for the next phase of the £3bn A9 dualling project.

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.

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.

Gloucestershire County Council has published the contract notice for its M5 Junction 10 Improvements Scheme, valued at £200m.

National Highways, its contractors and their workers have now completed a scheme to improve journey times on England’s largest gyratory roundabout

Bus operators have warned of a multi-billion-pound funding gap between plans by local authorities and bus operators to improve services and the funding promised by the Government.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Northern political leaders have written to the transport secretary to ‘propose a way forward’ on Northern Powerhouse Rail.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Politicians and transport sector leaders have questioned the Government’s commitment to its ‘levelling up’ agenda in reaction to last week’s Integrated Rail Plan, which saw Northern ambitions dashed.

Senior councillors at Leicestershire County Council are poised to turn down £15m of Housing Infrastructure Fund cash because the project represents ‘too great a financial risk’.

Highways England is to resurface a section of the M3 with the highest proportion of recycled asphalt pavement ever used on the strategic road network.

The expected opening date for the Lower Thames Crossing has been put back by up to two years, Highways England has disclosed.

Aggregate Industries' contracting division has opened a ‘pioneering’ new laboratory for materials testing due to a 'dearth of testing facilities' in the contracting sector.

Deaths on Britain’s roads fell by 16% last year but traffic levels were down 22%, meaning that fatality rates rose. The latest government figures also show a 40% rise in the number of cyclists killed.

Thames Water has been prosecuted by a London borough after creating what the highway authority said were unnecessary traffic jams three times in less than a fortnight.

Highways England has been criticised for drawing a ‘false equivalence’ between different types of hazard on motorways in assessing the safety of different smart motorways.

Chief executive of LCRIG and chair of NY Highways, Martin Duffy, announces the launch of a £150,000 innovation fund dedicated to the late head of local roads at the Department for Transport, Steve Berry, and funded by road marking company WJ.

The Welsh Government has announced a freeze on new road building projects, while a review of highway schemes across the country is carried out.

Highways England and TRL have launched a study into the benefits of different methods for approving road marking and road stud products, raising the prospect of reforms to the Manual of Contract Documents for Highways Works.

The collapse into administration of Vital Infrastructure Asset Management (VIAM) - formally King Construction - has hit highways contracts in at least three councils across the North West.

The chair of the Transport Select Committee has again written to ministers over Highways England’s management of the Historical Railway Estate, seeking details of a controversial project to infill a bridge in Cumbria.

Highways England has launched its search for a Delivery Assurance Partner to support the delivery of the £1.7bn A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down scheme.

Box junctions are likely to pose significant problems for local authorities using new powers to enforce moving traffic offences, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's chief adjudicator has told Traffex visitors.

Giant bridge beams are to be lifted into place across the M6 next month as the transformation of Junction 10 reaches a major milestone.

The UK came 31st out of 32 European countries in terms of progress in reducing road deaths over the past 10 years, new statistics have revealed.

Highways England has published its Innovation and Research Strategy, setting out its short, medium and long-term plans to accelerate change on its network.

Roads will only be built under the next Road Investment Strategy ‘where they are absolutely essential’, the head of Highways England has said.

Highways England’s forthcoming net zero carbon plan, currently awaiting Whitehall sign-off, will place significant emphasis on the company’s procurement power to drive low carbon approaches from its supply chain.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has celebrated a Court of Appeal victory for his flagship Streetspace programme - designed to reduce motor traffic across the capital and boost active travel - in the face of fierce opposition from taxi drivers.

The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation and WSP have given Traffex delegates an update on the government-sponsored refresh of the seminal Manual for Streets guidance for local street design.

The UK came 31st out of 32 European countries in terms of progress in reducing road deaths over the past 10 years, new statistics have revealed.

The Scottish Green Party has not ruled out supporting a Scottish National Party (SNP) administration that continues with major roadbuilding plans such as the A9 dualling, despite the country again missing its target for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Powers to enforce moving traffic offences will not be extended to local authorities in England outside London until the end of the year, a Department for Transport minister has said.

Highways England has announced maintenance works totalling £218m over the next year in the East of England.

Women and men who have helped keep the transport network running during the pandemic have again been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Former ADEPT president Neil Gibson will be part of the team of independent commissioners who will oversee improvements at Liverpool City Council, local government secretary Robert Jenrick has announced.

The Planning Inspectorate’s decision to allow an appeal over the expansion of Stansted Airport has been branded an ‘insult to local democracy’ by the leader of Uttlesford District Council.

The Planning Inspectorate’s decision to allow an appeal over the expansion of Stansted Airport has been branded an ‘insult to local democracy’ by the leader of Uttlesford District Council.

Women and men who have helped keep the transport network running during the pandemic have again been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

The Scottish Government has approved additional funding of up to £35.4m to enable bus operators to maintain services.

Gloucestershire County Council is gearing up for what it said could be biggest resurfacing scheme the city of Gloucester has ever seen.

This season's celebrity gritter - 'Chris Gritty' - marked another evolution in local roads maintenance, providing Transport for London with a liquid de-icer/snowbrush mini-tractor combi to help support the rise in active travel in the capital.

A ground breaking Metropolitan Police and Transport for London road safety scheme was honoured at the Highways Awards 2020. Editor Dominic Browne caught up with Andrew Cox, who helped lead the operation for the Met, as he embarked on another epic challenge; this time raising almost £50,000 for RoadPeace.

A ground breaking Metropolitan Police and Transport for London road safety scheme was honoured at the Highways Awards 2020. Editor Dominic Browne caught up with Andrew Cox, who helped lead the operation for the Met, as he embarked on another epic challenge; this time raising almost £50,000 for RoadPeace.

Leading highway marking and safety business WJ Group has acquired Bellstan Ltd, a long-standing road marking company based in Berkshire.

Ministers have given Stoke on Trent City Council more time to find a solution to toxic air pollution, despite expectations that a possible Clean Air Zone will delay the area’s compliance with legally binding pollution limits.

Highways England has confirmed the winners of the national element (Lot 1) of its £91m ground investigation framework.

Highways England has confirmed the winners of the national element (Lot 1) of its £91m ground investigation framework.

Michelle Scarsbrook, commercial sector director for software developer Sopra Steria, discusses how we can drive a better street works process in the UK.

Michelle Scarsbrook, commercial sector director for software developer Sopra Steria, discusses how we can drive a better street works process in the UK.

The Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce met in early June and confirmed that the Department for Transport, Transport for London and the local council would develop a memorandum of understanding on funding the bridge's repairs.

A local authority has thrown doubt over Highways England’s controversial plans to infill a road bridge over a former railway line without planning permission.

Local authorities are fighting to keep on top of the maintenance needs of public rights of way alongside a backdrop of increased public expectations, council place directors have said.

Local authorities are fighting to keep on top of the maintenance needs of public rights of way alongside a backdrop of increased public expectations, council place directors have said.

Tilbury Douglas has appointed Catherine Brookes as highways sector director for its infrastructure business.

Zurich Municipal has called for local authority pothole funding to give greater focus to cycle paths and footways to protect cyclists and e-scooter riders.

Colas has won a place on a £60m highway and civil engineering works framework with Leeds City Council, one of a number of new contracts and contract extensions in the North.

A major local government insurer has called for local authority pothole funding to give greater focus to cycle paths and footways to protect cyclists and e-scooter riders.

AECOM has appointed Rachel Billington as head of equity, diversity & inclusion in Europe.

The Government has announced the latest round of towns deals, which will see 26 towns across England share over £600m.

Ministers have awarded nearly £12m of major road network funding to a bypass scheme in the South East, hailing the cash as furthering its ‘levelling up agenda’.

Transport for London and five London boroughs have launched the capital’s long-awaited e-scooter rental trial, although one participant withdrew from the starting line-up.

Tilbury Douglas has appointed Catherine Brookes as highways sector director for its infrastructure business.

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport is set to deliver the opening keynote address at the forthcoming Traffex Parkex digital event on 15th June.

The Scottish Government has hailed what it called a significant milestone on the A9 dualling project but first minister Nicola Sturgeon has declined to provide an assurance that her Government will not abandon the £3bn project as part of a deal with the Green Party.

The contracting division of Aggregate Industries has won and started work on the contract to construct pavement for the £200m Preston Western Distributor Road.

Six bridge beams with a total weight of 420 tonnes have been lifted into place on the King’s Dyke rail and road project.

No one was hurt in an incident involving a food spillage on the A14 in Cambridgeshire but it left the road looking like the set of a horror film and led to some even more horrific puns.

Ministers have proposed further reforms to the regime for street works and road works following the introduction of Street Manager and in anticipation of a surge of street works linked to the roll-out of full fibre and gigabit-capable broadband.

Ministers have proposed further reforms to the regime for street works and road works following the introduction of Street Manager and in anticipation of a surge of street works linked to the roll-out of full fibre and gigabit-capable broadband.

Highways editor Dominic Browne speaks to Tim Baker of Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) about the company's world-leading ONROADLED road marker system, which uses inductive power transfer to provide a connected, wireless system.

Highways England has announced that a new woodland the size of 135 football pitches will be planted alongside the route of the proposed Lower Thames Crossing, in partnership with Forestry England.

Construction materials group Breedon has acquired Micromix (Northern) Ltd, which trades as Express Minimix, a 'mini mix' concrete operator based in Durham.

Transport for London has slapped HGV operators with penalty charge notices worth nearly £4m since March under its Direct Vision Standard road safety scheme.

Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone finally went live on Monday, but with a two-week ‘soft launch period’ where no charges will be levied.

Transport for London has slapped HGV operators with penalty charge notices worth nearly £4m since March under its Direct Vision Standard road safety scheme.

Transport for London has slapped HGV operators with penalty charge notices worth nearly £4m since March under its Direct Vision Standard road safety scheme.

The Government and London mayor Sadiq Khan have agreed a new £1.08bn funding package to take Transport for London through to December but ministers have insisted on reforms and savings that Mr Khan has said are unlikely to be deliverable.

Civil engineering contractors have reported early signs that the infrastructure-driven economic recovery in Britain is underway, but they also warned growing demand is driving up costs.

The Government and London mayor Sadiq Khan have agreed a new £1.08bn funding package to take Transport for London through to December but ministers have insisted on reforms and savings that Mr Khan has said are unlikely to be deliverable.

Following her recent appointment as president of Women in Transport, Dominic Browne talks to Jo Field of JFG Communications about her ambitions as president, diversifying the transport sector, and the future of the industry as we recover from the pandemic

Two floors of Wolverhampton’s new i9 office building will be home to the first ministerial department outside of London.

Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone finally went live on Monday, but with a two-week ‘soft launch period’ where no charges will be levied.

ADEPT’s new president has called for the complete removal of council borrowing restrictions to help authorities deliver an upsurge in affordable homes, with the Government and developers providing cash for supporting infrastructure.

Tarmac has successfully supplied and installed a specialist asphalt surface course to a large highways project in East Cheshire.

Ministers appear to be backing away from the idea of electrifying the whole Transpennine rail route, relying instead on bi-mode trains that run on diesel when electric power is not available.

HS2 Ltd was 'dishonest, misleading and inconsistent' and failed to follow its own processes when negotiating compensation claims with a home owner, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has found.

Councils have warned that they face a £400m reduction in local road maintenance budgets this year.

Ministers have said that spaceports are expected to be in operation in the UK from next summer after laying regulations in Parliament that will mean satellites and rockets can launch from UK soil for the first time.

The Government’s new flexible season tickets could offer discounts as low as 10% compared to peak-time daily tickets and see commuters paying up to twice the cost per journey compared to season ticket holders, while penalizing those whose working patterns change.

Highway Care’s FALCON Automated Cone Laying Machine (ACLM) has successfully complete both off and on-road trials.

Amey Consulting has won a place on a £300m framework that will see a range of providers deliver technical and professional services across South East Wales.

Leeds City Council has said a full investigation is underway to establish why a large concrete section of a demolished bridge crashed to the ground after being ‘safely placed’ on a trailer for removal.

Ayrshire Roads Alliance has awarded the only two places on a £6m surface dressing framework to firms from England and Northern Ireland.

ASI Solutions, a leading provider of asphalt preservation technology, is calling on local authorities and other bridge owners to take part in a new trial.

Amey Consulting has won a design contract to align associated and new roads for the 184-metre road bridge that is to be built over the River Clyde.

A senior MP has pressed ministers over unpublished evaluations of smart motorways schemes covering stretches of the M1 that have seen high profile fatalities in live lanes.

Ministers have pledged to end a quarter of a century of fragmentation on the railways by bringing them under ‘single, accountable national leadership’ through the 'Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail'.

The Government has admitted that current guidance on new models of improving local bus services may not be compatible with its flagship National Bus Strategy.

The cost of the road maintenance backlog on London’s roads has now passed £1bn, according to the fourth annual ‘State of the City’ report from the London Technical Advisers Group.

FALCON Automated Cone Laying Machine completes on-road trials Highway Care’s FALCON Automated Cone Laying Machine (ACLM) has successfully complete both off and on-road trials.

The Highways Sector Council has secured approval from the Department for Transport and Highways England for its initial plans 'to transform the industry'.

Women in Transport has announced that Jo Field will take over from Katie Hulland as the organisation’s new President after being elected to a four-year term at its Annual General Meeting on 13 May 2021.

The Government and London mayor Sadiq Khan have agreed a 10-day extension on the current Transport for London (TfL) funding deal, which was due to expire on Tuesday (18 May).

Women in Transport has announced that Jo Field will take over from Katie Hulland as the organisation’s new President after being elected to a four-year term at its Annual General Meeting on 13 May 2021.

A new survey suggests that average speed cameras have widespread support among drivers, with a majority wanting them used to enforce the 70mph limit on motorways.

The UK's biggest traffic and transport conference and exhibition is now open for registration for the virtual 15-17 June event, with an impressive speaker line-up featuring some of the biggest names in the industry.

Amey Consulting has won a place on a £300m framework that will see a range of providers deliver technical and professional services across South East Wales.

The UK's biggest traffic and transport conference and exhibition, Traffex/Parkex , is now open for registration for the virtual 15-17 June event, with an impressive speaker line-up featuring some of the biggest names in the industry.

The Government used the Queen's Speech to make infrastructure investment a core element of its future 'levelling up' plans.

Infrastructure consulting firm Aecom has started work on a new contract to deliver spatial planning advice to Highways England in two of its regions, including advice on development proposals affecting the strategic road network.

A coalition of bodies in Mid-Wales and the Midlands has written to Union Connectivity Review chair Sir Peter Hendy to call for a joined-up plan for ‘critical’ cross-border transport infrastructure investment.

Liverpool City Council has drafted an improvement plan and letter in response to the Caller report, which called for an intervention in the city.

Highways England is to impose a permanent 30mph speed limit in a village suffering high air pollution after a trial achieved an improvement.

Highways England is to restore a disused railway bridge in Oxfordshire after plans to demolish it caused an outcry.

Highways England is seeking a contractor for its Area 9 Maintenance and Response Contract, covering the West Midlands, which could be worth £335m over eight years.

The Government plans to overhaul public procurement and replace it with 'three simple, modern procedures' to give the public sector more scope to negotiate with potential suppliers to deliver innovative solutions.

Dr Suzy Charman, executive director of the Road Safety Foundation, makes the case for safer roads, as well as safer drivers.

Specialist engineering and construction business Keltbray made a pre-tax loss of £9.4m for the year ended 31 October 2020, which it said was driven by the costs of COVID-19, as well as restructuring costs.

King Highway has posted a ‘sneak preview’ video of its automated cone layer vehicle online.

Highways England is set to produce baselines for its biodiversity and carbon emissions reduction targets in its Delivery Plan update, due to be published in the Summer.

The Scottish Government’s £3bn A9 dualling programme has taken another small step forward with the announcement of the successful bidders for a £10m ancillary works framework, four years after the works were advertised.

Ten organisations have written to housing secretary Robert Jenrick urging changes to proposed planning reforms which they argue will lead to a ‘tide of car traffic’ to already overcrowded roads.

Highways England has awarded Jacobs a new £30m contract for ‘the maintenance and disposal’ of over 3,000 assets that make up the Historical Railways Estate.

Mott MacDonald Ventures, the strategic corporate venture arm of Mott MacDonald, has made an equity investment in smart energy company Piclo.

New data shows that traffic levels in Edinburgh and Glasgow have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, adding to fears about air quality following delays to Scotland’s planned Low Emission Zones.

More than half a million ultra low emission vehicles are now on British roads, with nearly one in seven new cars sold this year having a charging plug.

The latest evaluation of an all lane running smart motorway scheme suggests that the increase in greenhouse gas emissions was nearly double what was anticipated.

More than half a million ultra low emission vehicles are now on British roads, with nearly one in seven new cars sold this year having a charging plug.

The latest evaluation of an all lane running smart motorway scheme suggests that the increase in greenhouse gas emissions was nearly double what was anticipated.

Harrow Council’s cabinet has decided to remove two of three Transport for London Streetspace schemes designed to support people to socially distance and encourage active travel during lockdown.

Local authorities are leading the way in tackling climate change but are being held back by a ‘broken’ national system, a new report has found.

Harrow Council’s cabinet has decided to remove two of three Transport for London Streetspace schemes designed to support people to socially distance and encourage active travel during lockdown.

Local authorities are leading the way in tackling climate change but are being held back by a ‘broken’ national system, a new report has found.

A former Treasury aide and now Conservative MP is to spearhead the Government’s levelling up programme amid concern it is failing to make an impact in the red wall constituencies won by the Tories in the last election.

New data shows that traffic levels in Edinburgh and Glasgow have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, adding to fears about air quality following delays to Scotland’s planned Low Emission Zones.

Transport Network speaks to Adrian Murphy, new chief operating officer at SRL Traffic Systems, to find out more about his views on the highway sector and his ambitions for the future.

A former Treasury aide and now Conservative MP is to spearhead the Government’s levelling up programme amid concern it is failing to make an impact in the red wall constituencies won by the Tories in the last election.

New data shows that traffic levels in Edinburgh and Glasgow have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, adding to fears about air quality following delays to Scotland’s planned Low Emission Zones.

The Treasury's Super Deduction Tax Savings offer means that for expenditure incurred between 1 April 2021 until the end of March 2023 companies can claim 130% capital allowances on qualifying plant and machinery investments. Gary Spencer, MD at Meon Ltd, discusses the benefits for highways companies.

Wolverhampton City Council has worked with traffic technology specialist SWARCO Traffic to streamline the city’s traffic management via the firm’s MyCity platform.

Kier Highways has been awarded a six-month extension on its Birmingham Interim Services Contract, which was originally a 15-month deal reported to be worth around £85m.

Global engineering and consultancy company Ramboll has appointed Philippa Spence as its new UK MD, following Mathew Riley’s recent appointment to the group executive board as chief operating officer.

The re-opening of the Island Line railway on the Isle of Wight has been delayed to later this summer ‘due to challenges with the delivery of the new fleet of class 484 trains’.

The Construction Innovation Hub has launched the pilot phase for its 'Value Toolkit', designed to drive better social, environmental, and economic outcomes in the built environment.

Cyngor Gwynedd Council has appointed seven contractors to a framework worth up to £60m to provide surfacing and other works across north and mid-Wales.

Earlier this year, Brett Landscaping completed work for Denbighshire County Council after two substantial landslips destroyed part of a rural unclassified road in a very precarious geography.

Colas has teamed up with hire company GAP Group Ltd and taken delivery of a purpose-built electrical excavator for use on its £38m major improvements scheme on the A46 Stoneleigh Junction.

The AA has called for an independent investigation into the system used to detect stopped vehicles on smart motorway all lane running (ALR) schemes.

Plans to legally define vehicles with Automated Lane Keeping System technology as self-driving and allow them on British roads this year have been criticised for exaggerating the capabilities of the technology.

Westminster City Council is the first local authority in the UK to install more than 1,000 electric vehicle charge points.

Highways England has announced the organisations that have won places on its new £195m archaeology framework, helping to unearth discoveries at schemes across the country.

North Lanarkshire Council has tendered a £5.7bn commercial place-shaping partnership contract, which would last 20 years with the option to extend for a further five.

North Somerset Council has awarded Alun Griffiths an early contractor involvement (ECI) contract for the Banwell Bypass and local highway improvements, which could be worth £38m.

Acting CEO of Highways England Nick Harris will give a keynote speech at Traffex this June in what is expected to be his first major public address.

More accurate data on road casualties should be a priority and not restricted to the initial judgement of police officers at the scene, a major road safety charity has said.

More accurate data on road casualties should be a priority and not restricted to the initial judgement of police officers at the scene, a major road safety charity has said.

Will Britain has been president of the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) since the organisation’s formation in 2013. Here, he discusses the group's journey to where it is today, how he has used his own career experience to help overcome challenges and the importance of removing barriers to change.

Construction materials group Breedon saw increased revenue in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the equivalent period last year, which largely predated COVID-19 restrictions.

Dr Howard Robinson, the former chief executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA), has become the organisation’s chairman.

Kier Group has hailed ‘significant financial and strategic progress' after returning to profit in the six-month period ending 31 December 2020.

Kier Group has hailed ‘significant financial and strategic progress' after returning to profit in the six-month period ending 31 December 2020.

Highways editor Dominic Browne speaks to Roadgrip director Richard Powell about the most environmentally friendly way to maintain a road.

Highways editor Dominic Browne speaks to Roadgrip director Richard Powell about the most environmentally friendly way to maintain a road.

Jenoptik Traffic Solutions UK has received Home Office Type Approval for a new red light enforcement system that uses a stand-alone camera to spot violations at signal-controlled junctions.

Highways England has pledged to accelerate safety improvements on smart motorways in its first progress report since a national 'stocktake' of the controversial schemes, though critics say change is not happening fast enough.

A coroner has written to government departments including the Department for Transport, calling for action on air pollution to 'prevent future deaths'.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has appointed Sir Jonathan Thompson as a non-executive director 'to represent the Government’s interests' on the board of HS2 Ltd.

The long-running dispute between the RMT union and South Western Railway (SWR) over the role of guards has ended after union members ‘voted overwhelmingly’ in favour of a deal, according to SWR.

Drone technology developer sees.ai has become the first company in the UK to secure authorisation from the Civil Aviation Authority to trial a concept for routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations.

Highways England has admitted that radar units used to detect stopped vehicles on smart motorways are too far apart, despite having previously placed an £18m order based on the existing spacing.

The UK’s sixth Carbon Budget will incorporate 'the UK’s share' of international aviation and shipping emissions for the first time, and bring the country ‘more than three-quarters of the way to net zero by 2050’.

Brian Kent, national technical director at Tarmac, takes a look at what the highways industry can do to reinvent our towns and cities in a post-pandemic world.

Drivers are having to use roads that often ‘resemble the surface of the Moon’, the RAC has said after revealing a 37% year-on-year rise in pothole-related breakdowns in the first three months of 2021.

Transport for the North has confirmed the appointment of Martin Tugwell as its next chief executive.

Parts of the rail industry need an overhaul to adapt to 'the unpredictability of the times’, Network Rail has said after it emerged that one operator was not allowing advance tickets to be bought for the beginning of next month.

Transport Scotland is seeking multi-disciplinary consultants to support the construction of a new length of trunk road at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful.

The top awards ceremony in the highways sector will have a category permanently dedicated to the late Steve Berry OBE, as a testimony to his lasting impact and legacy.

The top awards ceremony in the highways sector will have a category permanently dedicated to the late Steve Berry OBE, as a testimony to his lasting impact and legacy.

Martin Tugwell, current president of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, is in line to become the new chief executive of Transport for the North.

Tarmac and JCB have successfully trialled JCB’s new pothole machine in partnership with Rutland County Council.

Tarmac and JCB have successfully trialled JCB’s new pothole machine in partnership with Rutland County Council.

There will be no shortage of quality content at this summer’s digital Traffex Parkex event taking place 15-17 June. The Traffex conference steering committee, made up of senior officers from Highways England, ADEPT, ITS (UK), CIHT, REMA, the Association for Road Traffic Management and Safety, the Institute of Highway Engineers and Highways Magazine, are close to finalising an ambitious agenda which focuses on many of the key issues affecting traffic and transport professionals today and further into the future.

The trade body that represents the utilities industry over street works has accused councils of 'straying' from the original intentions of the Government's Lane Rental scheme.

Developers of a new blend of materials described as 'an anti-ageing cream for roads' say it could cut repairs and environmental impacts.

The annual cost of defending transport schemes against legal challenges has seen a dramatic rise, with one infrastructure organisation seeing costs more than treble in five years, figures obtained by Highways reveal.

A new industry-wide system is ‘set to transform’ the pre-qualification process within the construction industry, its backers have said.

Balfour Beatty has said it anticipates strong growth in key markets, including transport infrastructure and services.

Multevo has appointed a new civil engineering contracts manager to support recent service delivery successes across the UK.

A new industry-wide system is ‘set to transform’ the pre-qualification process within the construction industry, its backers have said.

Returning to a car-dominated transport network will put climate targets and a ‘fair’ economic recovery at risk, transport campaigners have warned after a survey revealed that cars will continue to be the preferred mode for most journeys.

Highways England has said trials of new safety technology funded under its Designated Fund for innovation have proved hugely successful and that it plans to roll the system out at strategic route locations across the country.

SRL Traffic Systems has appointed Adrian Murphy as chief operating officer following what it described as a period of substantial investment and strong revenue growth

Eurovia is introducing more electric vehicles and equipment after setting the target of a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

Eurovia is introducing more electric vehicles and equipment after setting the target of a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation virtual Spring Conference opens next week (13 – 15 April) under the key theme of Reshaping Everyone’s Future.

It is with enormous sadness that Highways reports on the death of our friend Steve Berry OBE, head of highways maintenance, innovation, resilience, light rail and cableways at the Department for Transport.

It is with enormous sadness that Highways reports on the death of our friend Steve Berry OBE, head of highways maintenance, innovation, resilience, light rail and cableways at the Department for Transport.

Highways England’s A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme is predicted to add to the amount and quality of habitat for wildlife, according to a new report.

Local highways resilience in England was robust and adaptable in the face of COVID-19, according to a report commissioned by the Department for Transport.

A London borough is seeking bidders for highways and transport services framework contracts that could be worth £224m, although actual spend over the existing four-year frameworks has been just over £10m.

Local authorities will be able to offer bespoke Bikeability Family training sessions to help people feel more confident cycling.

Stacey Smithson has been nominated by Highways England as a Highways Hero for her amazing, and exhausting, charity work.

Highways England has awarded a £328m contract to design and deliver a long-awaited upgrade to the A358 between the M5 at Taunton and the Southfields roundabout on the A303.

Highways England’s Strategic Design Panel has called for a more concerted effort to achieve a ‘significant shift in design culture’.

Smart traffic lights using wide-angle cameras and artificial intelligence are set to be trialled on local networks to help regulate crossing times for vulnerable pedestrians.

The transport watchdog has called on the Government and the rail industry to ‘be straight with passengers’ about the fact that social distancing may not always be possible, despite extra trains, as Britain comes out of lockdown.

Truro has secured £23.6m from the Towns Fund, which the Government said would boost the local economy, support transport schemes and create jobs and new homes.

The Government could face legal action over its ‘troublingly opaque’ allocation of the Levelling Up Fund.

In January, GW Highways began work on a £160m road asset renewal contract with Kent County Council lasting two years, with the possibility of a two-year extension.

Balfour Beatty VINCI is working in partnership with youth charity the Prince’s Trust to provide 30 Kickstart training placements on HS2 this year.

Smart traffic lights using wide-angle cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) are set to be trialled on local networks to help regulate crossing times for vulnerable pedestrians.

Leighton Buzzard train station has become the first UK transport hub to trial the use of kinetic energy from commuters’ footsteps, under a government-funded local innovation project.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has advertised for a new chair of HS2 Ltd - a part-time role worth £200,000 a year.

The prime minister's levelling up agenda has had a rocky start after official figures from his first year in charge show major disparities in regional transport spending, with the Midlands and the North losing out again.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has insisted that it will fund ‘over 50’ local road upgrades during this Parliament from its flagship National Roads Fund (NRF) despite allocating just £426m in two years and funding only eight schemes so far.

Highways England has invited tenders on two roads contracts worth a combined £1.9bn to build routes north and south of the River Thames on the proposed Lower Thames Crossing.

The estimated one-time cost to get local roads in England and Wales back into a ‘reasonable, steady state’ is £10.24bn, according to this year’s ALARM survey – the popular benchmark for the upkeep of council networks.

The Government has launched a £120m fund to help local transport authorities in England roll out zero-emission buses.

Highways England has awarded Skanska a £507m contract to design and build the long-awaited A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements scheme.

An independent report into the procurement of highways-related services at Liverpool City Council has called for the highways service to be completely restructured after finding a culture of ‘rule avoidance’ leading to excessive costs.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said he intends to delay publishing a progress report on smart motorway safety until ‘the summer’, despite recently telling MPs that he would ‘come back to this House and report on it very quickly’.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said he intends to delay publishing a progress report on smart motorway safety until ‘the summer’, despite recently telling MPs that he would ‘come back to this House and report on it very quickly’.

An independent report into the procurement of highways-related services at Liverpool City Council has called for the highways service to be completely restructured after finding a culture of ‘rule avoidance’ leading to excessive costs.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed that he plans to implement bus franchising in the city region ‘as part of plans for a joined-up and truly passenger-focused transport network’.

The Welsh Government has announced an extra £12m for local authorities to 'fix potholes and improve roads, pavements and active travel routes' across the country.

Highways England is heading up an international effort to find the best products and systems available for the removal of older ‘ghost’ road markings to provide clear direction to our drivers. Innovation director Paul Doney gives an update on this area of innovation.

The Department for Transport has committed a further £33m of emergency COVID-19 funding to support light rail and tram operators during the pandemic.

Active travel campaigner Sarah Berry weighs up the evidence around low traffic neighbourhoods and local crime figures, with a focus on women's safety and sense of security.

Network Rail has said extra safety spending to address the recommendations of a major report into the Stonehaven train derailment, which killed three people, could have to wait for the next Control Period from 2024 onwards.

Coventry is set to become the UK’s first All Electric Bus City after the West Midlands Combined Authority backed the project.

The RMT has said it is set for a nationwide rail dispute with Network Rail in response to the ‘threat of thousands of rail worker redundancies and a 50% cut in rail safety maintenance work'.

Central government cash for buses in England outside London could exceed the £3bn pledged in the Government’s new Bus Strategy, it has emerged.

Balfour Beatty Plc has announced a 65% fall in pre-tax profits for the 2020 calendar year.

The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme carried off three trophies at the 2020 Highways Awards - Road Enhancements and Marking Project of the Year, Major Project and the Judges' Special Merit Award. Behind all this success was a commitment to detail, co-ordination and collaboration, say the team at Keyline Civils.

Tom van Vuren, regional director UK & Europe at Veitch Lister Consulting, and visiting professor at the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds, discusses the benefit cost ratio process for transport projects.

The ‘Teckal’ company created by North Yorkshire County Council has appointed Highways columnist and industry stalwart Martin Duffy as its chair.

The Scottish Government has again sought to reassure the public of its commitment to the £3bn A9 Dualling Perth to Inverness project as it reviews its delivery plan.

Construction materials group Breedon has announced that Rob Wood will take over as chief executive next month as it revealed a 49% fall in pre-tax profits.

The Scottish infrastructure secretary has reacted furiously to a suggestion from the Westminster Government that a trunk road in the devolved nation should be upgraded.

Highways contractor Carnell has said it plans to expand its use of renewable fuel after a trial cut its CO2e emissions on a scheme by 90%.

A free series of masterclass webinars is on offer to the transport and infrastructure sector, catering for general managers as well as providing best practice and a level of complexity useful to engineering professionals.

Highways England has launched what it says is its ‘biggest ever motorway safety campaign’, a year after the Department for Transport pledged a campaign to inform the public about ‘smart motorways’.

Executive members of ITS (UK) have elected top business figures in the sector to the group's strategy committee.

GRAHAM is set to win a £79.5m contract to build the first opening road bridge over the River Clyde.

Amey has announced that Andy Denman will be joining the company as its new highways sector director in May.

Construction of the third and final section of the Grantham Southern Relief Road is set to start next month.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the first round of the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund will be available to local areas to help tackle regional inequalities.

Highway Resource Solutions (HRS) was part of the team that triumphed at the 2020 Highways Awards to win Industry Product of the Year for the innovative ‘Smart Sign’ digital technology. As HRS celebrates 10 years of excellence, managing director Roger Poeth explains how it all started and the company’s vision for the future.

Keltbray has secured a £14.1m package to deliver 14 bridge structures on the delayed A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross Scheme for the Costain /Jacobs partnership on behalf of Highways England.

Highways England has completed major improvements to increase capacity at a key Yorkshire roundabout to improve traffic flow.

Highways England is building a ‘new and wider’ steel bridge to allow school children, cyclists and pedestrians to cross the A5.

A new bridge across the A63 in Hull has opened after years of delays to a £22m Highways England project.

The permanent 50mph limit with average speed enforcement on the M4 near Newport will go live this month.

Only half of the cameras capable of enforcing violations of lane closures on smart motorways are fully operational, a year and a half after a change in the law made it possible for camera evidence to be used for prosecutions.

The 2021 Budget announced a range of small to medium-sized transport and highways spending measures, including £135m 'development funding' for the A66 Trans-Pennine upgrade.

Following the Government’s announcement this week concerning the timeline for the road out of lockdown, the Traffex/Parkex team have confirmed that the 2021 edition of the show will now run as a digital-only event, with the in-person exhibition returning to Birmingham’s NEC in June 2022.

The estimated construction cost per km of the Welsh Government’s recent A465 dualling contract is more than double that of other comparable current schemes in the UK.

The chief executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) has called for a new, comprehensive strategy to help councils move to more effective road maintenance.

Roadmender Asphalt’s chief executive officer, Harry Pearl, gives Highways his take on how we can ‘reverse the rot’ in local roads maintenance once we come out of lockdown.

Climate change needs to be at the heart of the Government’s economic recovery plans after COVID-19, a cross-party group of MPs has declared.

Traffex is delighted to welcome a new member to the event team. Richard Gayle joins as commercial manager, responsible for all exhibition sales and sponsorship, as well as the day to day running of the sales department.

The West Midlands Combined Authority has given the green light for the new £24m Dudley Interchange.

County councils have said they will have ‘no choice’ but to cancel high priority highway maintenance works next year after the Government announced capital funding allocations down £398m on current levels.

A well-known flyover in Birmingham has been demolished as part of a £27.1m highway works programme in preparation for the Commonwealth Games.

HAUC(UK) has launched a new app to help road workers avoid damage to underground assets from cable strikes.

Herefordshire County Council has scrapped plans for two major roadbuilding schemes near Hereford, citing the climate emergency and the need to decarbonise transport.

The UK needs to install public electric vehicle chargepoints five times faster than the current rate and spend up to eight times more, or £10bn by 2030, a think tank has said.

All manufacturers and importers will have to recertify their products by the end of the year to make sure they comply with Highways England standards under the new UK/EU regulatory framework.

This year’s Traffex, expected to take place live at the NEC in Birmingham and simultaneously online between 15-17 June 2021, will feature a renewed partnership with Highways England.

The transport secretary has admitted that it was ‘entirely wrong’ to roll out all lane running ‘smart motorways’ without the stopped vehicle detection (SVD) technology that would justify the name.

Northern Ireland’s devolved government has said it plans to issue a draft new road safety strategy by March after its existing plan expired last month.

Local authorities are being urged to apply for a share of £20m to help increase the number of on-street electric vehicle chargepoints.

The UK needs to install public electric vehicle chargepoints five times faster than the current rate and spend up to eight times more, or £10bn by 2030, a think tank has said.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed £93m for three major road upgrade schemes across the country, including schemes funded as part of the major road network (MRN) and the Local Large Majors programmes.

The Scottish Government is facing calls to adapt its approach to the Bellwin emergency scheme to help cash strapped councils hit by extreme weather.

The first ever virtual Highways Awards on 28 January was a major success with a record audience, great humour from host Colin Murray and a huge buzz on social media.

The number of substandard road bridges managed by councils across Great Britain is increasing, new research shows.

Aberdeen has claimed a world first after a fleet of double-decker hydrogen buses officially launched into service on Thursday (28 January).

Residents of West Yorkshire have been asked to give their views on plans for a new transport network that aims to connect the region’s communities to jobs, education and opportunities.

Traffic officer Stewart Fox has been nominated by Highways England as a Highways Hero after showing leadership in learning and promoting the use of British Sign Language (BSL) to support deaf customers on the network. He speaks to Dominic Browne about BSL, being an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion champion, and making a difference just by being nice.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council will be trialling touchless technology at six busy pedestrian crossings in a bid to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

A new consortium has been launched to support and protect the future of drones and unmanned aircraft systems.

Steven Baylis, partner at Lime Solicitors, discusses the potential for a corporate manslaughter case.

Transport for West Midlands managing director Laura Shoaf is the new chair of the Urban Transport Group.

Environment Agency inspections found that more than 3,400 vital flood defence assets across England were in poor condition last year.

Local authorities in England have said a slight dip in the surplus them make on parking activities could impact their ability to fix potholes and tackle congestion.

Highways England has been unable to support its claim to have completed 160 cycle schemes between 2015-20 under its Designated Funds programme.

Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) chair Rick Green calls on councils to participate in the 2021 ALARM survey so highways maintenance gets the public and political attention it deserves.

Highways England is promising to resolve a ‘missing link’ on one of the National Cycle Network’s key routes by extending the A36 cycleway in Salisbury.

Councils are planning on installing just 35 on-street electric vehicle chargers each by 2025 on average, an investigation has revealed.

Transport for London has secured planning permission for a new development that it said will deliver 852 new homes for rent and sale, including 50% affordable housing.

The High Court has overturned London mayor Sadiq Khan’s Streetspace for London Plan, which was introduced in May last year in response to the pandemic.

Homes have been evacuated in Northern England and Wales and transport disrupted after storm Christoph caused severe flooding.

Oxford City Council has said it is the first local authority in the UK to approve a city-wide air pollution reduction target.

Highways England has awarded the first of three multi-million-pound contracts that will 'revitalise concrete road surfaces across the country'.

Highways England has met a pledge in its Delivery Plan to carry out a large-scale trial of a CCTV-based alternative to its existing stopped vehicle detection system.

During the first lockdown in April of this year, IHE junior vice president Ellie Gormley had no time to sit and enjoy the sun; she was busy shopping for eight vulnerable residents in her local area of Rugeley, Staffordshire.

Paul Boss, chief executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association, speaks to Dominic Browne about overcoming challenges on the front line and working behind the scenes to ensure the sector could keep going.

The Welsh Government has set up a dedicated 'Development Unit' to take forward the recommendations of the South East Wales Transport Commission after endorsing all of them.

Councils are issuing fines worth an average of £850,000 a year for parking offences, with one raking in more than £10m, according to new research.

The widow of a man killed on a smart motorway has thanked the coroner who described such schemes as presenting ‘an ongoing risk of future deaths’ and called for a new review into their safety.

Environmental campaigners have called on local authorities to cancel spending on road building and redirect funds to boost public transport and active travel.

Transport for London (TfL) has made a pitch for £3.1bn government funding for the next financial year as it published details of fare rises and cuts to services.

A major survey taken to mark National Pothole Day has found that 81% of local authorities believe the pothole crisis has become worse over the last five years.

All travel corridors to the UK will be closed from 4am Monday (18 January), meaning any passengers travelling to the country must obtain a negative COVID test 72 hours before departure.

Rail services across Great Britain are set to be cut to around 72% of pre-pandemic levels.

Labour has described the Government as ‘slipping into utter chaos’ after ministers delayed the introduction of compulsory COVID testing for passengers arriving in England.

TRL will this year launch a new academic service to support organisations in the new aspects of the transition to zero-carbon transport.

The chief executive of Transport for the North has warned that government cuts to its funding will cause a ‘significant scaling back’ of its work, including its ability to progress Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Transport for London has unveiled a new online tool that it said will enable organisations and the public to see the level of road casualties in the capital.

The Department for Transport has published examples of new signs to guide traffic to COVID-19 vaccination centres in support of the national vaccination plan.

Traffex Parkex returns this year as a full hybrid exhibition, backed by a COVID peace of mind guarantee.

Coventry and Oxford are set to receive up to £50m to help them become the first parts of the UK to run all-electric bus services.

HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson has said scrapping HS2 now would have a 'chilling impact' on the construction sector in the UK and send a 'terrible message' in response to the pandemic.

Ministers are considering new measures to prevent new cases of COVID-19 being imported into the UK, including pre-departure testing for people arriving here.

New car registrations fell by 30% in 2020, but it was ‘a bumper year’ for battery and plug-in hybrid electric cars.

Kent County Council has been given new powers to clamp and fine lorries that are illegally or inappropriately parked.

Air pollution exceeds pre-pandemic levels in 80% of places despite continued lockdown restrictions, new research has uncovered.

Rural and remote bus services saw journeys fall by 97 million last year due to a £348m funding gap, a new report has warned.

Local and regional leaders representing around a third of the population of England and Scotland have committed to going ‘further and faster’ than central government by eliminating carbon emissions in their communities at least five years earlier.

The National Highways and Transport Public Satisfaction Survey this year threw in new questions and provided new comparisons although the big question remains the same: of the 109 authorities that took part, who came out on top?

The Government’s pledge to go ‘further and faster to tackle climate change’ has taken a blow after the Department for Transport (DfT) admitted its flagship transport decarbonisation plan has been delayed.

Labour-controlled unitary authorities in England are more likely to implement Conservative government policy supporting cycling, new research has found.

Ministers have admitted that the cash available for enhancements to the rail network during the current five-year period will be £1bn lower than promised.

The bus industry has laid out plans for its recovery and long-term sustainability, based on flexible local arrangements and central government support worth up to £500m in the first year alone.

Leeds City Council is set to scrap its Clean Air Zone (CAZ) plans after businesses switched to cleaner vehicles in anticipation, and could repurpose the scheme's vehicle tracking technology.

There is no sign of a promised process for approving advanced trials of autonomous vehicles, nearly three years after ministers pledged to ‘make world-leading changes to the regulatory framework’.

The Scottish Government has approved new spending of up to £52.6m to help bus operators maintain services during the pandemic.

Network Rail will ‘refine’ plans to improve resilience along a 1.8km stretch of railway in the South West after more than half of respondents to a consultation expressed disapproval.

Councils in Wales could have greater powers to prevent pavement parking by 2022 after ministers backed recommendations from an independent taskforce.

The Scottish Government has pledged a further £4m emergency funding for Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams in response to the ongoing financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AA has accused some councils in England of doing ‘next to nothing’ by way of maintenance on their road network.

Former Transport for London commissioner Mike Brown has been awarded a CBE in the delayed Queen’s Birthday Honours, which have seen transport workers and others recognised for their work during the pandemic.

The Aberdeenshire town of Kintore will this week see the return of rail services after an absence of almost 60 years.

Uber has won its appeal to be allowed to operate in London despite its 'historical failings'.

Four train firms have launched a new pilot in London with British Transport Police (BTP) ‘to further encourage people to wear face coverings’, backed by the threat of removal from trains or fines.

The Government will be making £2m available to help encourage children to walk or cycle to school.

Local authorities have called on MPs to help lobby the Government over the creation of lorry parks to cope with no-deal Brexit border disruption.

Network Rail has published a new Environmental Sustainability Strategy, setting out a vision ‘to serve the nation with the cleanest, greenest mass transport’.

The Scottish Government has published contract notices for the two remaining trunk road maintenance deals, worth around £1.4bn.

The second in our series of exclusive behind-the-scenes briefings on the award winning A14 scheme from the team at Atkins. This week Highways hears about how a legacy of wildlife habitat innovations was achieved.

Staffordshire County Council and Amey have partnered with two electric scooter providers to launch micromobility trials as part of the ADEPT Smart Places Live Labs programme.

Highways England is introducing new resources to make it easier for people with disabilities to use its network.

Siemens and Cubic Transportation Systems have also secured one-year extensions to their Traffic Control Maintenance contracts with Transport for London, Highways has learned.

Transport for London has given Telent a one-year extension on its Traffic Control Maintenance contract.

Kier Group made a loss of £225m in the year to 30 June 2020 as the pandemic hit its revenues.

Ministers have ‘ended’ rail franchising after 24 years but placed existing operators onto transitional contracts while they work out exactly what to replace it with.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has made a new pitch for government funding for the capital’s cash strapped transport services, warning that jobs across the country are at risk.

Trials of an autonomous passenger shuttle in Cambridge have been scaled back and will no longer seek to use the city’s controversial guided busway.

Highways England is trialling 60mph speed limits on short sections of its network to bring air pollution within legal limits.

The first citizens’ assembly on climate change has called for tough action including limiting the growth of car and plane travel and ending the sale of the most polluting vehicles.

Parents and charities have called on local authorities to improve air quality at schools as research suggests a 50% reduction in pollution could halve the number of children with poor lung function.

The Transport Network team celebrates another milestone.

Highways England has appointed Mott MacDonald to the final place on its Regional Delivery Partnership (RDP) technical adviser framework in a deal worth up to £20m.

There are concerns in Wales that the UK Government may use powers ‘stolen’ from devolved nations to build the £1.5bn M4 Relief Road at Newport – which Welsh ministers cancelled last year.