Designated
Funds

Working together to protect lives

Background

Since the launch of Highways England’s Suicide Prevention Strategy in 2017, we’ve used designated funds to develop schemes at locations on our network frequently used by vulnerable people attempting to take their own lives. 

The initiative

One of the ways in which we’re contributing to the cross-government goal of preventing self-harm is by reducing access at priority locations for people in crisis. One location has been the subject of a multi-stakeholder partnership to prevent people from attempting to take their own lives there. We’re investing more than £1.2 million at this site, with the sole aim of protecting people’s lives.

Results

We’re installing a bespoke, anti-climb fence and steel safety barriers over the full 200-meter length of the site, as well as SOS phones with direct dial to the police and Samaritans. Infra-red movement detection cameras on the structure alert the police if anyone is detected close to its edge.

We have worked in partnership with the police, Samaritans, and local authorities on the initiative, which has also involved working with taxi firms to encourage them to alert police if callers ask them to drive them to the site.

Easing congestion at England’s busiest junctions

Background

The Roger Millward Way roundabout in Hull city centre is one of England’s busiest junctions, with around 4,500 vehicles travelling through every hour during peak times.

The initiative

As part of a £4.5 million improvement scheme to reduce congestion here, we’ve introduced full signalisation and additional lanes through the centre of the roundabout. Known as a ‘hamburger junction’, the new layout allows traffic on the A63 to go safely through the centre of the roundabout from both directions, while drivers wishing to turn left or right can use the usual circular routes. This means traffic flows better through the junction, reducing journey times in the area.

Results

The new junction layout has smoothed the flow of traffic, making journeys in and out of Hull on the A63 more reliable, and improved safety for pedestrians. While working on the roundabout, we also repaired the existing drainage, ensuring the drains run freely and will not require maintenance in the near future.

Transforming a heritage icon in to a city hub

Background

Hull Minster was built by King Edward I at the same time as he created the city of Hull in 1285. It’s the only remaining building in Hull from that time; a heritage icon that reflects the entire history of the city and has potential to become more of a hub for residents and visitors.

The initiative

As part of our A63 Castle Street improvement scheme, which passes just 100 metres from the church, we’ve invested £3.9 million through the Hull Minster Development Trust to safeguard the Minster’s heritage. Our goal is to create a sustainable future for the church as a magnificent place of worship, focal point for the community and magnet for visitors.

Results

Our investment allows for a number of major improvements, including a glass, bronze and stone extension which will house a visitor and heritage centre with exhibition spaces, a café and other new visitor facilities. The extension will lead into a ‘heritage corridor’ within the church, creating a home for carefully curated exhibits about the history of Hull and the central role the church has played in it.

The development of an accessible visitor centre and café will help secure the long-term financial future of the Minster.

Improving air quality by switching to electric vans

Background

An incentive scheme launched in January 2020 between Highways England and Leeds City Council is acting as a catalyst to encourage businesses with van fleets to make the switch from diesel to electric, by offering free two-month trials of electric vans to local businesses.

The scheme sits among a host of measures aimed at both improving air quality and tackling carbon emissions from road transport, as the UK takes steps to become a zero-carbon economy by 2050.

The initiative

We provided more than £1.9 million funding to support the Council’s Electric Van – or EV - Trials Scheme, which now has 42 small electric vans available for loan. The Council has invested a further £900,000 via a government grant, supporting the centre’s running for an initial two years.

The vans include a device for tracking journeys and charging costs, helping fleet managers understand the benefits and practicalities for their business, as well as providing an opportunity to test the compatibility of the technology with their operations.

Results

Since the start of the year, hundreds of organisations have registered an interest in trialling a vehicle, from large and small businesses, to public and third sector organisations across West Yorkshire. And, as a result of an earlier pilot of the trials, South Yorkshire Police has invested in 12 electric vans, which are already significantly reducing the force’s emissions.

Meanwhile, we’re investing a further £9.3 million with other local authorities to extend the scheme to more areas, covering Coventry, Kent, Nottingham, Sheffield and Bristol.

Find out more about what we’re doing to deliver better air quality.

Collaborating to improve water quality and biodiversity

Background

Stover Park lake at Stover Country Park in Devon is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Over the past 20 years, it had been slowly deteriorating, in part due to contaminated silt from the nearby A38 runoff. It needed a sustainable solution to mitigate contamination and enhance biodiversity.

The initiative

The ambitious project to install a sustainable drainage system for the lake started in late November 2018. Completed in June 2019, it included the construction of two reed beds totalling 3800 square meters, to reduce the amount of pollutants being discharged into the reservoir.

Plans to improve biodiversity included the creation of a new wetland habitat, re-establishing species-rich grassland and the removal of 300 pine trees that were contributing to the acidification of water entering the lake.

Delivered in partnership between Highways England, Stover Country Park and Devon County Council, the project also had input and support from Natural England and the Environment Agency.

Results

The new habitats created by the sustainable reed beds and grassland has already seen biodiversity flourish, with Stover Country Park reporting its first sightings of the rare Lesser Emperor Dragonfly and Green Sandpiper.

The original budget for the project was nearly £4.5 million, however, through effective collaboration, the project team achieved a delivery cost of just over £2.9 million.

Helping people to make better travel decisions

Background

Travel demand management is a set of strategies that can influence travel behaviour (how, when, why and where people travel) to increase the efficiency of transport systems and deliver economic, environmental and social benefits.

The Highways England Travel Demand Management (TDM) programme is helping people make better travel decisions by making their journeys to work less time consuming, more convenient, and cheaper.

The initiative

In 2020, we invested £1.7million in a TDM initiative to support people’s journeys to work while we upgrade the M27 and M3. We’re collaborating with City Councils in Southampton and Portsmouth, and Hampshire County Council, while working with local employers and stakeholders.

The initiative focuses on providing tailored travel information on demand, while promoting access to additional sustainable transport measures, including better links to bus and cycle facilities.

Results

By directing people onto alternative forms of transport, improving congestion reporting, and flagging alternative routes, our TDM funding aims to ignite long-term change in travel behaviour. These changes will support business continuity, and contribute to improvements in local air quality by alleviating congestion at critical times and locations.

Restoring a popular traffic-free route

Background

The Keswick to Threlkeld Multi User Trail was severely damaged in Storm Desmond in December 2015, when two bridges across the River Greta were washed away, along with 200 metres of path. A third bridge was later closed to keep the public safe.

The initiative

A £7.9 million funding package was agreed to enable work to start on reconnecting Keswick and the village of Threlkeld, four miles away. The new trail will provide a safe, accessible traffic-free route for tourists and the local community.

Started in early 2019, the work is expected to take about two years. Just over half of the £7.9 million cost for the final phase of this project is being met from our designated funds, with additional support from the European Regional Development Fund and community fundraising by the Lake District Foundation.

Results

The trail runs alongside the A66 and will provide cyclists and other users with a safe and accessible alternative to travelling along the road. In addition to the reinstatement of the bridges and tunnel, a three-metre wide pathway will enable access for all users, including those who are mobility impaired.

Bringing history to life with immersive experiences

Background

Archaeological investigation is an important part of all Highways England’s major infrastructure projects. As we’ve worked to improve England’s vital road transport arteries, many historically significant artefacts have been unearthed and preserved by our teams.

The initiative

To preserve artefacts in a way that makes them accessible to all, we’ve invested in the latest technology to bring items of archaeological significance to life. Many finds are too fragile to go on public display, so we’ve developed an app which uses virtual reality to share these exciting discoveries. The app works on people’s phones with easily accessible and cost effective virtual reality kit, such as Google Cardboard. It’s also being used by museums, exhibitions and at events to bring visitors a fully immersive experience.

Results

We’re now developing the app to include haptics for ‘feeling’ artefacts in the virtual world, and 4D smells for an enhanced experience of items such as woolly mammoth tusks and woolly rhino skulls.

Investing in innovative ideas

Background

In February 2019, alongside Innovate UK, we launched two competitions to encourage the country’s most creative minds to come up with ideas aimed at revolutionising roads and driving. We received more than 200 entries from a diverse network of innovators, with just over a third from micro companies employing fewer than 10 people.

The initiative

Through the competitions we awarded £10 million in funding to six pilot projects and seven feasibility studies. These included concepts for new construction materials and road surface technologies, different ways of tackling air quality and providing real-time data to connected vehicles.

As an example, technology which could improve air quality by reducing the number of vehicle stop-starts at signalised motorway junctions was named one of the successful entries. The technology uses a technique known as Green Light Optimised Speed Advisory to provide drivers with speed advices that help them to pass through traffic lights during green intervals.

Results

We’re in the process of further developing and testing the winning ideas, looking at how these new technologies can help to support our three imperatives of safety, customer service and delivery.

Leading the way for road standards

Background

At Highways England, we’re always looking to improve how we operate and maintain our roads.

When road markings need to be altered or removed, for example when lane layouts change, the original marks can sometimes still appear as faint or ‘ghost’ lines, with the potential to confuse motorists, particularly in very bright or wet conditions.

The initiative

To tackle this, we launched a global search through our Innovation designated fund, in partnership with Roadcare and Kier, to find effective road markings that can be removed without damaging the road surface, and don’t leave ‘ghost’ marks.

Thirty-six entries came in from around the world, and eight winners were chosen to trial their materials. This included lab trials in Madrid, where products were subjected to two million 'wheel overs', as well as real-world all-weather testing on the M5, in the south west.

The results

After the laboratory testing, the eight winning solutions were installed on the M5 in April 2019, with periodic testing of performance so that the team can assess the results against the data from the laboratory turntable testing in Madrid. The removal element of the trials will go ahead in September 2020, after being postponed due to Covid 19.

Once complete, the most successful products will be highlighted in research shared around the world - setting new standards for the road industry.

Going over and above to maintain our network

Background

In a ground-breaking project with Network Rail, we trialled new technology on helicopters to monitor the country’s rail and road networks.

With ‘eyes in the sky’, our teams explored how we could improve road and rail network management and maintenance, while also protecting our workforce by reducing the amount of time spent on physical inspections.

The initiative

Using a helicopter equipped with the latest aerial remote sensing technology, we assessed the UK’s road and rail networks, which are often in close proximity to each other. We trialled various technologies - hyperspectral remote sensor imaging, LiDAR and aerial photography - to assess their potential use in monitoring the condition of assets such as manholes, pipes and drainage systems. These technologies could also be used to identify faults or risks in our network to better plan and deliver vital maintenance and renewal work.

The results

The information gathered through this trial has helped us and Network Rail explore new means of monitoring and maintaining our networks, understand potential infrastructure risks, improve road safety and help to plan maintenance.

Due to the successful joint working through this project, our organisations are now working on plans for further trials and collaborations.