Road infrastructure experts are calling for urgent action to stop the continued reuse of existing road barrier and parapet anchors – many installed over 30 years ago – warning that the practice could be putting
lives at risk.
Over the past few decades, National Highways has invested significantly in upgrading barriers across the strategic road network. However, experts warn that while the visible infrastructure has been modernised, many of the original carbon steel fixings – mostly installed in the 1980s and 1990s, and some dating back to the 1970s – remain in place.
These stainless steel anchors are vital safety components, responsible for transferring crash impact forces into the supporting structure when a vehicle collides with it. Moisture, road salt, vibration and stress over time can cause corrosion and weaken the structure.
Experts warn that bolting stainless steel fixings into old carbon steel anchors without proper separation – a practice they say goes against basic engineering principles – can accelerate corrosion.
In addition, modern vehicles, particularly electric vehicles (EVs) are significantly heavier and place much greater stress on barrier systems and their fixings than they were originally designed to handle.
Despite the risks, experts say many anchors are still reused without full structural checks or proof of long-term safety.
They argue that authorities often rely on basic proof load testing, which only shows short-term strength and cannot detect hidden corrosion, thread damage or wear over time.
Paul Abbott, Director at SSR Limited, a UK specialist in anchoring systems and structural safety, said the reuse of ageing anchors was not a theoretical concern. He pointed to formal discussions recorded in meeting minutes between the former Highways England and the Vehicle Restraint Manufacturers Association (VRMA) in August 2019, where it was acknowledged that, in refurbishment projects, the majority of parapets are fixed to existing anchors – a practice largely driven by budget constraints.
“You can install a new parapet, but if it’s still bolted into a rusty anchor from 1985, you haven’t upgraded anything – you’ve just given it a facelift.”
In 2023 alone, 1,695 people were reported killed and over 139,000 injured in road collisions across the UK. However, campaigners highlight that there are no national statistics collected on barrier or anchor failures in road traffic collisions – meaning, they argue, the true contribution of infrastructure weakness to fatal or serious injuries remains unknown.
(Pic: National Highways)
