From potholes to major new road schemes, the following is a snapshot of the current schemes on our road network, highlighting just some of the issues that any freight or delivery firm must deal with on a daily basis and demonstrating why a good route optimisation tool that is regularly updated with the most recent road information is critical.
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Pothole Backlog and Repairs, £12bn
The UK is currently facing a total bill of over £12bn to clear the backlog of pothole repairs
The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) from the Asphalt Industry Alliance, says that despite highway maintenance budgets increasing by 4%, the proportion being spent on surface repairs has fallen and engineers are faced with a choice between keeping roads open and safe or improving overall conditions.
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Traffic light repair backlog, £80m
England faces backlog of £80m in repairs to traffic lights
A major survey has revealed that the traffic signals maintenance backlog in England could total more than £80m and cost authorities over £6m annually in fault repairs.
The figures come from The Department for Transport backed Transport Technology Forum (TTF), which carried out research into the signals sector as part of the application process for a traffic signals maintenance challenge fund.
The TTF surveyed 83 local authorities’ operations, amounting to just over 50% of the highway authorities in England.
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Number of road closures per day
Around 200 road closure every day
On any given day there can be around 200 road closures and the National Highways provides advanced notifications.
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A417 Missing Link
The A417 missing link contract has been awarded
National Highways has awarded Kier a £460m contract to design and deliver a ‘landscape-led’ upgrade to the A417 that is 3.4 miles long, between Gloucester and Swindon, turning single lane highway into a dual carriageway.
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New Tees Valley Tunnel
Possible new tunnel for Tees Valley
Officials at Tees Valley Combined Authority are to carry out a study into the possibility of building a road tunnel connecting Hartlepool and Redcar under the River Tees.
While the two towns are a relatively short distance apart on opposite sides of the river, drivers travelling between them need to travel to the west of Middlesbrough to cross the river via the A19 or the Newport Bridge on the A1032 – a journey of approximately 27 miles.
The combined authority has identified a new crossing for the A19 as one of the region’s key transport priorities, but officials have been instructed to undertake a feasibility study into the potential for a tunnel downriver.
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New A50 Link road
The A50 link road in Derbyshire has now been approved
Derby City Council has approved a collaboration with two other authorities to secure £50m towards a major road scheme to serve Infinity Park Derby (IPD).
In October 2021, Derbyshire County Council was awarded £49.6m ‘in principle’ from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund to help fund a new £60m junction and link road off the A50, serving IPD and the Wragley Way housing development within the city.
To secure the cash the county council will need to submit a business case, working with South Derbyshire District Council and the Derby City Council, whose strategic director of communities and place will lead the work.
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Major resurfacing work in Derbyshire
Delays can be expected for a year as resurfacing work in Derbyshire starts
Delays can be expected over the next year as Derbyshire County Council has awarded Aggregate Industries a contract worth £6.5m to carry out resurfacing work over the next year and is seeking bidders for further work worth a total of £24m.
Aggregate Industries will deliver the strategic surfacing contract, which the council said will cover schemes over £100,000 and will run from May until the end of March 2023.
The contract covers the whole county (excluding Derby City area) and will include resurfacing, traffic management, road studding and road markings (lining and associated works).
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New Highway schemes 2025 - 2030
32 New Highway schemes are currently planned for 2025 - 2030
Between 2025 and 2030 Highways England has 32 road schemes identified and planned for development, costing around £347m including;
- A1 Doncaster to Darrington
- A120 Braintree to A12
- A14 Junction 55 Copdock interchange
- A27 Chichester Bypass
- A64 Hopgrove
- M1/M62 Lofthouse interchange
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With so many road closures, roadworks, and improvement projects, route optimisation and delivery route planning around all the constant changes are more than just cost-cutting measures. When your routes are efficient and optimised, you can provide your customers with an accurate delivery window, allowing them to plan ahead of time and be available to receive your delivery – improving customer service. Your customers will come to rely on you, and you will become their preferred supplier or logistics provider. When an unexpected delay occurs, you can keep the customer fully informed on new ETAs to maintain a good relationship.
Contact us for more information and to discover how route planning software can help your business.
