Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Investing in the Network

We add capacity to the network through our capital building programme. Our delivery of major projects has been enhanced through the strengthening of our commercial and project management capabilities, and our future plans draw upon the lessons learned during the innovative use of the hard shoulder as a running lane, trialled on the M42.

Since April 2008 we have applied the Project Control Framework, an improved approach to project management, to all major schemes. We have utilised new performance measures based on Earned Value Management techniques. Monitoring and assessment of the benefits delivered to date shows a process of continuous improvement.

We completed work on 16 major schemes in 2008-09, all of which brought big improvements to journey reliability, safety, or reduced impact on the environment, with work continuing on seven others.

M25 widening

In autumn 2008 we selected Connect Plus, a consortium comprising Balfour Beatty, Skanska, Atkins and Egis Projects to widen key sections of the M25. After completion of the funding arrangements the Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract was signed in May 2009. In addition to widening, the contract provides for the operation and maintenance of the M25 network for the next thirty years. Benefits to road users will include reduced congestion, improved journey time reliability and safety.

Fiscal stimulus

In December 2008, a £700 million package of transport investments was announced as part of the Government's fiscal stimulus. The Highways Agency is delivering £400 million of this, including: 

• the bringing forward of work to introduce hard-shoulder running on around 340 lane miles of Britain's motorways 
• the start of work, three years early, on providing a new fast link between the A1 and M1 by upgrading to dual carriageway the missing section of A46 from Newark to Widmerpool
• the bringing forward of a substantial programme of asset renewal work, impacting on projects in all regions