Sharing best practice with highway engineers in the UK

The opening address of this online event was given by Baroness Vere, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, who has responsibility for roads and motoring within the Department for Transport. She acknowledged that those in the highway sector had been the ‘hidden heroes’ of the Covid-19 pandemic, working unstintingly to keep networks functioning safely, and expressed her department’s on-going commitment to local roads funding.

The speakers covered a wide range of topical subjects including policy evolution, the views of motoring and cycling organisation members, 25 years of ALARM (Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey) reports, local authority approaches to achieve more sustainable highways and information on an industry-led research project on protocols to use when assessing innovative paving materials.

Details of the speakers and their presentations, which can be downloaded from the links, are detailed below:

• 25 Years of the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey and the ongoing impact of a stop/start approach to funding on our local roads
  David Giles, UK General Manager, Eurobitume and Director, Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA)
• RAC – motorists’ view on local road conditions
  Nicholas Lyes, Head of Roads Policy and Public Affairs Lead, RAC
• Cycling UK’s view of ALARM/upsurge in cycling/call for roads to be repaired
  Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns and Advocacy, Cycling UK
• Active travel within the overall sense of place
  Mark Stevens, Assistant Director Operational Highways, Suffolk County Council/ADEPT
• Dorset Council’s approach to recycling
  Dave Blackburn, Waste and Recycling Manager Highways, Dorset Council
• Use of recycled asphalt planings
  Dan Perks, Operations Manager – City Highways, Westminster City Council
• Collaborative research project – HE, MPA and Eurobitume: Filtering protocol for innovative paving materials including waste derived materials
  Malcolm Simms, Director, MPA Asphalt, Mineral Products Association and Director, Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) and Helena Lacelle, Principal Engineer, Pavement Design and Asset Management, Transportation, AECOM
• Asset management 10 years on: The Right Investment in Lewisham, part of the South London Asset Management Consortium
  Tom Henry, Highways Manager, London Borough of Lewisham and Herbert Micallef, Director, Highways and Infrastructure, Metis Consultants Ltd

Reaction to the day was very positive, with 80% of local authority delegates ranking the half-day event as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’.