A417 Missing Link reaches major milestone for new junction
The A417 Missing Link project in Gloucestershire has hit its next major milestone – building a new underbridge that will form part of a major new junction. National Highways, along with contractor Kier, has this week started lifting 53 20-tonne pre-stressed concrete beams into place that carry nine lanes of traffic over the new Shab […]
Ro(a)dent safety: Highway voles thriving in new habitat as £300m dualling scheme progresses
A colony of voles on one of Norfolk’s busiest highways has settled into a new life after relocation as an important road scheme enters its second year of construction – and work commences on the new River Tud road crossing. National Highways is on track on a huge project to dual the busy A47 from […]
M60 Simister Island improvements get the go-ahead
National Highways has been given the go-ahead to make changes to the M60 Junction 18 Simister Island Interchange after the Department for Transport approved the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the scheme. This approval grants planning permission to move forward with work that will deliver smoother, safer and more reliable journeys on the motorways in […]
M4 to shut for three days next month
National Highways has announced the closure of the M4 in both directions between junction 18 (Bath) and junction 19 (M32) from 7pm Friday 10 to 6am Monday 13 October. It’s to enable the lifting of eight steel beams into place for the new A432 Badminton Road Bridge. This key scheme milestone will be the last […]
Industry-first national guidance factors suicide prevention into design of UK roads and bridges
New guidance released by National Highways and the UK Roads Leadership Group (UKRLG) will support the better design of major UK roads and bridges to help reduce suicide risk. The UKRLG Roads and Bridges Suicide Prevention Guidance was developed with input from the road sector and Samaritans and encourages planners and engineers to incorporate features […]
Hampshire: Weekend closures for essential M27 work
The first phase of maintenance works on two bridges on the M27 between junction 12 and the Hilsea Interchange is now nearing completion. Now National Highways are preparing to work on top of the structures, which will involve weekend closures of the M27 at junction 12 through September and October. The bridges, known locally as the […]
Years of A1(M) roadworks have made life ‘hell’ for Yorkshire village
Two and a half years ago, a series of essential repairs began on a stretch of the A1(M) on the border of West and South Yorkshire. According to the BBC, the work on the Wentbridge Viaduct and Wentedge Road Bridge was meant to be finished by summer 2024, but after defects were discovered, the completion […]
A417 Missing Link scheme clocks up 2 million hours without incident
Since the A417 Missing Link scheme went live in Spring 2023, there have been nearly 2 million hours of work with no RIDDOR reportable incidents, the equivalent of 8,300 days of keeping workers safe on site. A RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) reportable incident refers to Health & Safety Executive […]
National Highways begins early market engagement for £8bn highways maintenance contracts
National Highways has started early market engagement on its £8bn second-generation Maintenance and Response (M&R2) contracts to cover the 4,500-mile Strategic Road Network. The new deals will replace existing M&R arrangements which start expiring from July 2028. These were procures and 10 separate maintenance and response contracts across a dozen operational areas of the network, […]
Black Cat roundabout project costing £1m a day
A road improvement project is costing about £1m a day as it reaches its midpoint. The National Highways scheme is building a 10-mile dual carriageway between the Black Cat roundabout in Bedfordshire and Caxton Gibbet in Cambridgeshire, says the BBC. The aim is to reduce congestion and speed up journey times along the A428, with […]