highways england

England Routes Roadworks-Free Over Easter

Good news have been announced ahead of the Easter break as the vast majority of roadworks on England’s motorways and major A roads are set to be removed. Highways England is working to remove 459 miles of roadworks to allow for easier travel during the holidays. “We’re doing everything we

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Contractors Announced for Highways England Work

The 13 contractors who will be carrying out up to £8.7 billion worth of work on the national road network have been announced by Highways England. Known as Delivery Integration Partners, the contractors will be part of Highways England’s Regional Delivery Partnership, which encourages companies to improve safety and journeys

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Interserve Wins Highways England Contract

A £4 million Highways England contract to upgrade the M271 Redbridge roundabout near Southampton Docks has been secured by Interserve, the international support services and construction group. “We are delighted to have secured another Highways England contract after our recent success on the A63 Princes Quay in Hull. Our works

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Buying British Steel now a Necessity for Key Public Sector Bodies

As outlined in a new set of guidelines for procurement (as put together by Sajid Javid, Business Secretary), areas of corporate social responsibility and economic accountability are to be placed on the shoulder of key, large-scale public sector bodies. To include organisations such as the NHS, Highways England and Network

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Latest Issue
Issue 325 : Feb 2025

highways england

England Routes Roadworks-Free Over Easter

Good news have been announced ahead of the Easter break as the vast majority of roadworks on England’s motorways and major A roads are set to be removed. Highways England is working to remove 459 miles of roadworks to allow for easier travel during the holidays. “We’re doing everything we can to make journeys as smooth as possible this Easter and that’s why we’re keeping around 99 per cent of the road network we manage, free from roadworks,” commented customer service director Melanie Clarke. Starting with 6am Thursday 18 April 2019, the motorway and major A-road network will be free of roadworks until 12.01am on Tuesday 23 April 2019. For safety reasons, Highways England is urging drivers to do simple vehicle checks before their Easter journeys to minimise the risk of breakdowns on the road network. These include checking fuel, tyres, engine oil, water and lights. Drivers are also reminded to ensure that they have the correct licence and insurance to tow whatever the weight, make sure you have connected correctly, and always ensure your load is secure and within the limits for your vehicle before setting off. Specific focus has also been put on adhering to motorway signage, especially the red X signals on smart motorways. Lanes are closed for a reason and ignoring red X signs puts people at risk. To ensure everything runs smoothly and to help people who get into difficulty, Highways England traffic officers will be working around the clock. These measures are being implemented to ensure drivers and passengers stay safe on national roads over the holiday break.

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Contractors Announced for Highways England Work

The 13 contractors who will be carrying out up to £8.7 billion worth of work on the national road network have been announced by Highways England. Known as Delivery Integration Partners, the contractors will be part of Highways England’s Regional Delivery Partnership, which encourages companies to improve safety and journeys on roads. “Routes to Market represents a fundamental change in the way we deliver road projects. It will be performance rather than price based, focusing on building the right projects with the best outcomes for road users and the communities we serve. It demands a major step up in our supply chain to embrace innovation and team work, and in their ability to deliver value,” commented Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England Chief Executive. These are the selected contractors and the lots: Lot 1 – South West and Midlands – £200 million – two partners: Geoffrey Osborne; and Griffiths/Farrans Joint Venture (Alun Griffiths (Construction) and Northstone (NI) Limited trading as Farrans Construction); Lot 2 – South East and East – £350 million – two partners: John Graham Construction Ltd; and Volker Fitzpatrick; Lot 3 – North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber – £200 million – two partners: Amey Sir Robert McAlpine Joint Venture (Amey OW and Sir Robert McAlpine); and North Midland Construction; Lot 4 – South West – £800 million – two partners: Galliford Try Infrastructure; and Taylor Woodrow; Lot 5 – Midlands – £1,250 million – two partners: BAM Nuttall; and Skanska Construction UK; Lot 6 – South East – £1,100 million – two partners: BAM Nuttall; and Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering; Lot 7 – East – £2,800 million – three partners: Costain; Galliford Try Infrastructure; and Skanska Construction UK; Lot 8 – North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber – £2,000 million – three partners: Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering; Costain; and Kier Highways. The partnership will help develop, design and construct highway projects across England from 2019 through to 2024.

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Interserve Wins Highways England Contract

A £4 million Highways England contract to upgrade the M271 Redbridge roundabout near Southampton Docks has been secured by Interserve, the international support services and construction group. “We are delighted to have secured another Highways England contract after our recent success on the A63 Princes Quay in Hull. Our works on the Redbridge roundabout will benefit residents, businesses and ease congestion around Southampton docks,” said Wayne Howell, Sector Director for Highways. The scheme will see Interserve create a new free-flow, left-turn lane from the M271 to the Port of Southampton. The infrastructure division will also complete road-widening works to create four lanes on the roundabout to increase its overall capacity. Other associated works will include an additional toucan crossing which enables pedestrians and cyclists to cross together, replacing a footbridge and refurbishing an existing subway to the north of the junction. A major problem in this area of Southampton is congestion, with the M271 southbound to the A33 exhibiting average speeds of below 40 mph during peak hours which also impacts road safety. This scheme aims to reduce traffic delays on this important route into Southampton and create more reliable journey times for local, regional and port transport. Interserve is one of the world’s foremost support services and construction companies. Their core values are at the heart of everything they do. As leaders in innovative and sustainable outcomes for their clients and a great place to work for, Interserve offers advice, design, construction, equipment, facilities management and frontline public services. Headquartered in the UK and FTSE listed, Interserve has gross revenues of £3.7 billion and a workforce of circa 75,000 people worldwide.

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GRAHAM awarded M40 noise barrier installation with Highways England

GRAHAM has been awarded a scheme to install conventional noise barriers on the M40 motorway as part of a series of improvements on behalf of Highways England. The scheme will take place between Junctions 3 and 8 of the motorway, with the ultimate goal being to reduce noise pollution along the route. The commitment to deliver these improvements is set out in Highways England’s Delivery Plan. Highways England has been working in partnership with the M40 Chiltern Environmental Group (M40 CEG), Wycombe District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, to develop proposals to reduce noise along the M40 corridor between Loudwater (near junction 3 of the motorway) in Buckinghamshire and Wheatley (near junction 8) in South Oxfordshire. The organisation has been liaising with the M40 Core Group since 2005 over road noise along the M40 corridor. Following feasibility reports into using photovoltaic enabled noise barriers and PV panels, Highways England asked suppliers to develop a more cost affordable solution, and in 2016 the decision was made to revert to conventional noise barriers. Noise barriers are planned for sections of the M40 as it passes near High Wycombe, as well as near the Buckinghamshire villages of Lane End, Stokenchurch and Chepping Wycombe. Five of the sites involve direct work to highway structures, and account for 1.9km of the proposed 4.9km of barrier. The contract will be overseen by Dave Brown, who was recently appointed to lead on GRAHAM’s collaborative delivery framework (CDF) with Highways England. Upon award of the scheme, Dave said: “GRAHAM is pleased to be leading on this scheme for Highways England, which will make a huge difference to residents based along the M40 motorway. “To ensure the scheme is as cost effective as possible, the supplier has identified innovative solutions at Loudwater Viaduct, limiting barrier height while still maintaining a reduction in noise. “GRAHAM is committed to undertaking schemes like this in a collaborative manner, engaging the local community and working closely with Highways England to deliver improvements which will be beneficial for those who reside in the area.” GRAHAM’s civil engineering team has been involved in some of the most prestigious projects within the UK and Ireland, including the Tennison Road Bridge Replacement for Network Rail, the A138 Chelmer Viaduct for Highways England, and the high-profile M80 Stepps to Haggs Upgrade in central Scotland. The company has a very strong civil engineering track record which is underscored by two recent short-listings in the Major Civil Engineering Project of the Year (over £50m) category at the 30th British Construction Industry Awards 2017.

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Buying British Steel now a Necessity for Key Public Sector Bodies

As outlined in a new set of guidelines for procurement (as put together by Sajid Javid, Business Secretary), areas of corporate social responsibility and economic accountability are to be placed on the shoulder of key, large-scale public sector bodies. To include organisations such as the NHS, Highways England and Network Rail, the guidance will see responsibility for social and economic impacts laid upon such organisations for the importing of steel; instead, encouraging the use of British steel. To be applied to all projects greater in value than £10m, clients will also be expected to look at other core areas of corporate social responsibility such as: carbon emissions, sourcing standards, the transportation of materials abroad, as well as areas of social importance such as health and safety – specifically for the staff of the suppliers themselves. As such, those organisations successful in securing public sector contracts will then also need to promote steel requirements direct to UK-based producers so as best to ensure that British businesses are provided with ample opportunity to both compete for, and secure supply contracts on an equal playing field. The guidelines themselves are expected to bring a level of assurance to the continuity of the UK steel market, allowing those organisations in the sector to better tap into the colossal £300bn expected to be spent on the major UK infrastructure developments already highlighted for across the country over the next few years. The announcement itself follows swiftly after Tata Steel’s expression of interest in selling its UK businesses, which presently includes the biggest steel mill in the country; something which heralded great concern for the future prosperity of the wider industry. Sajid Javid explained: “By changing the procurement rules on these major infrastructure projects, we are backing the future of UK steel – opening up significant opportunities for UK suppliers and allowing them to compete more effectively with international companies.”

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