On 15th and 16th October, our team attended the UK’s largest highways event – Highways UK. Featuring over 360 exhibits and 250 speakers for keynote panels and technical sessions, we’ve captured key insights for the highways sector.
National Highways CEO Nick Harris opened the event by outlining strategic priorities:
- Safety
- Resilience
- Sustainability
- Innovation
- Infrastructure maintenance
- Collaboration
- Customer experience.
He provided confirmation of RIS3 funding, approximately £25 billion over five years, which he noted “brings confidence and clarity”.
The sector is quickly evolving with efforts to combine carbon conscious design, digital innovation, and social value. Bid teams must align to these priorities to effectively secure future work and align with National Highways’ mission to secure a reliable strategic road network (SRN).
Key Themes and Highlights
The RIS3 Investment Plan
RIS3 brings renewed confidence to the sector, supporting renewals, safety, and environmental programmes. National Highways aims to transition from a road builder to a customer service provider, integrating the road network into every aspect of travel. Adam Simmons, Director of Strategic Planning at National Highways, highlighted “the challenges we face demand a collaborative approach”. Given this, it is likely there is an increased demand for joint ventures and collaboration in the procurement space with a focus on efficiency and deliverability.
Sector Growth and Investment
One of Thursday’s keynote speakers, Tracy Black CCO of the CBI, made it clear the UK’s road network is essential for economic growth. With 80% of freight moved by road, nine times more than by rail, Britain’s roads are indispensable to our economy. Roads build jobs, communities and prosperity and there is an urgent need for real partnership between government and business. Large government investments in projects like on and offshore wind and renewable energies all require a strong SRN.
In response to some of these challenges, Minister for Roads and Buses, Simon Lightwood MP reiterated the government’s commitment to an extra £2bn for National Highways over the next five years taking the sum figure to the aforementioned £25bn until 2031.
With government commitments promising 1.5 million new homes by the end of parliament and 12 new towns, three of which will begin construction by 2028, a robust SRN is more vital than ever.
Whilst bidders can expect some large scale projects in the coming years, with tight budgets and the ever-increasing need to ‘do more with less’ bidders should expect to be asked to prove their cost-effectiveness and be able to mobilise swiftly to protect against deadline delays.
Futureproofing the Network: Resilience and Defect Management
Considering increasing extreme weather events, National Highways has started to place an emphasis on the resiliency of the road network. With aging assets and a network that isn’t growing at a substantial rate, with more users than ever, many panellists emphasised the need for a resilient SRN that can withstand modern challenges.
Steve Elderkin, Head of Environmental Sustainability at National Highways, spoke with a desire to prevent complex works from needing to take place by intervening early, using new technologies. We have already seen the move to Street Manager software across Britain and, whilst not fully operational yet, National Highways’ space coordination tool is a promising innovation. The tool feeds live data into a control room and then onto road users, efficiently communicating changes.
Software now models climate scenarios, analysing how freight vehicles and increased numbers of heavier electric cars will impact the future network, predicting defects before they occur. Going forward, National Highways are determined to ensure all local authorities have equal access to technologies such as climate modelling and the space coordination tool. Bidders are likely to be expected to incorporate predictive software into their quality management process with a particular focus on defect prevention, detection and mitigation.
Digital Transformation and AI
The sector is continuing to push for AI and data-driven solutions in procurement. Emerging applications include AI-powered maintenance detection, safety enhancements via smart cameras, logistics automation, predictive traffic updates, and autonomous vehicles.
Concerns surrounding safety and skills gaps in AI remain. National Highways is addressing this with a safety-first approach and workforce development through upskilling and recruitment. To be demonstrated as a safe and innovative partner, bidders must look to mirror in their digital solutions.
Collaborative Data Sharing
National Highways is working toward a one network solution, aligning national, regional, and local planning: avoiding fragmented schemes. This includes leveraging strategic corridors and housing developments to ensure roads support broader community needs.
The sector aims to share data across platforms, enabling joint ventures and local collaborations, using AI tools to enhance data use. Sue Percy, CEO of CIHT, reinforced that “investment must link into the wider economic and industrial strategy, not be discussed in isolation”. Future tenders will likely feature quality questions surrounding connecting communities and alignment with a wider industrial strategy.
Sustainability and Carbon Reduction
Sustainability remains a top priority for National Highways. Decarbonisation efforts are increasingly embedded in design, with procurement favouring circular economy principles, alternative fuels, and nature-based solutions. Sam Wilson of the Future Highways Research Group explained: “largest emissions are from maintenance operations, staff, plant, waste, and logistics. Even switching to the lowest-carbon material might only cut ~3.6% overall, the bigger prize is productivity and longer asset life.” The industry has an increased focus on asset lifespan and minimising carbon footprint via effective, permanent defect solutions and construction.
Social Value and Community Impact
Under the government’s new PP02 policy, contractors must demonstrate how they will deliver community benefits beyond on-site requirements. To facilitate these benefits National Highways will offer the Social Enterprise DPS, a free marketplace connecting public buyers with pre-qualified social enterprises; and the Legacy Fund, which offers micro-grants (£500–£30,000) for local projects. National Highways have already awarded over £3.5 million across 20+ procurements and are currently managing a pipeline of approximately £5 million. Bidders should be prepared to show how their social value model goes beyond just the bid whilst aligning with these schemes, creating a lasting legacy.
Incorporating Takeaways from Highways UK into Procurement
Reflecting on the insights gained from Highways UK, the following are likely to be fundamental:
- Demonstrate RIS3 alignment: Emphasise deliverability, renewals, safety, and environmental outcomes with ORR-ready metrics
- Embed measurable social value: Social value metrics must align with KPIs whilst providing previous evidence, for bid compliance under PP02.
- Target operational decarbonisation: Focus on delivering right first time, every time; reduced traffic management hours; efficient logistics, and alternative-fuel equipment
- Adopt digital-first practices safely: Underpin work with the new Specification for Highway Works, alongside dependable, safety orientated procedures.