Highways Voices: From being told you’re unemployable to becoming an award-winning transport planner
Most Highways Voices episodes explore innovation, leadership and technology. This one explores something even more powerful: the determination of one remarkable woman who refused to let life tell her “no”. In one of the most moving and inspirational conversations we’ve ever recorded, transport planner Lynsey Michelle Turner shares her extraordinary journey from a childhood dominated […]
Transport Focus warns smart motorway safety perception still lags behind conventional routes despite satisfaction boost
A new study suggests drivers are continuing to feel less safe on smart motorways than on conventional motorways, despite a significant improvement in overall satisfaction following the completion of National Highways’ programme to install additional emergency areas. The latest Strategic Roads User Survey by the independent watchdog Transport Focus found satisfaction with journeys on smart […]
TfL Director of Buses ‘shocked’ that drivers use bottle as a toilet
Transport for London’s Director of Buses, Lorna Murphy, has said she was shocked by the findings of an ITV News London investigation which revealed how drivers were forced to use an empty plastic bottle as a toilet. Ms Murphy insisted that she wanted to ensure every route had access to basic hygiene facilities, but that […]
HS2 completes major A43 works during weekend closures
The construction of a bridge that will allow high speed trains to pass under the busy A43 near Brackley took a major step forward over the weekend with completion of a complex multi-stage realignment of the dual carriageway. The A43 – which links Oxford, Brackley and Northampton – is a vital route, providing access to Silverstone and connections […]
JCT Symposium delegates to hear how ‘thinking like a river’ could unlock solutions to congestion
Can treating traffic like flowing water help engineers identify the real causes of congestion at some of the UK’s most challenging junctions? That’s one of the thought-provoking questions set to be explored at this September’s JCT Traffic Signals Symposium in Lincoln, where National Highways’ Peter Richards and Marinos Tsiplakis from Compass IoT Limited will present […]
BCP Council’s £24,000 in parking fines in one year on single street ‘of interest to Government’
It has been revealed that Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council handed out 389 fines, totalling £24,610, for cars parked on St Stephen’s Road in Bournemouth between June last year and the end of this May, says The Telegraph. The Government is set to use the results from Bournemouth’s trials to assess whether higher parking […]
M53 Wirral bridge to be replaced
A temporary traffic order is in force on the M53 in the Wirral to enable the replacement of Upton Road Bridge and associated maintenance, National Highways has said. The scheme introduces a 50mph speed limit, overnight carriageway and slip road closures, and lane width restrictions between junctions 1 ans 3, says the Liverpool Echo. 50mph limits will apply on […]
Rees Jeffreys Road Fund opens professional development and innovation grant applications
The Rees Jeffreys Road Fund has opened applications for two funding programmes designed to support both individual professional development and innovative projects across the UK transport sector. The charity is inviting applications for its Ready for the Future professional development grants alongside grants of up to £30,000 for research and educational projects that improve how […]
RSTA urges local authorities to build flexibility into surface dressing permits
The Road Surface Treatment Association (RSTA) is calling on local highway authorities to build more flexibility into the work permits they issue to surface dressing contractors, to help ensure surface dressing is installed within its optimum temperature range during this summer’s exceptionally hot weather. Surface dressing performs best when applied within a specific temperature window; […]
Asphalt Industry Alliance chair issues response to the new PM’s appointment
David Giles, Chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), has issued a response to the appointment of Andy Burnham as the UK’s new Prime Minister. “We hope that incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s time as Mayor of Greater Manchester has reinforced just how vital a well-maintained local road network is to supporting connectivity, economic growth […]