Highways Agency

Reducing Emissions

What is Reducing Emissions about?

Emissions are the release of substances or noise that can cause nuisance or harm to humans, other animals and plants. The Government's strategy for Sustainable Development for the UK 'A Better Quality of Life' (1999) discuses Effective protection of the environment and explains that:

"We must act to limit global environmental threats, such as climate change; to protect human health and safety from hazards such as poor air quality and toxic chemicals."

Why is this an issue for the Highways Agency?

Before constructing or widening roads the Agency must consider the impact of the road and users vehicles on the environment and society. Recent advances in technology have delivered significant reductions in vehicle emissions. However, they continue to be an important factor in both local air quality and levels of greenhouse gases. Traffic noise and light pollution are major concerns for communities living close to our road network. Tackling these issues through, for example, low noise surfaces and high cut off lanterns are a priority for the Agency. Additionally runoff from roads can adversely affect watercourses and groundwater, with spillage of loads and the use of pesticides/herbicides in highway maintenance posing further threats.

Significant emissions can also arise from construction and maintenance activities. Noise and dust can cause nuisance to local communities, and pollution can occur from construction vehicle emissions and site activities. It is the Agency's responsibility to ensure that contractors minimise these emissions.

What is the Highways Agency's goal?

The Agency has three environmental objectives that relate to the reduction of pollution as part of 'Towards a balance with nature: Highways Agency Environmental Plan':

• To take practical steps to minimise emissions. This includes appropriate highway designs to influence vehicle operation plus controls on the performance of contractors.
• To take practical steps to minimise noise and disturbance. This includes providing appropriate highway designs and making more use of noise reducing technologies. The Agency will also aim to increase the awareness of contractors about the importance of this issue. In addition we are working with our partners in the vehicle, tyre and construction industries to enable them to play their part.
• To identify and implement practical steps to manage the drainage of our network; we aim to minimise the impact of traffic and of our maintenance operations on watercourses, groundwater and flooding.

How is the Highways Agency achieving its goal?

To achieve a reduction in air emissions the Agency is:

• Working towards improved performance in emissions control during construction/ maintenance activities.
• Working in partnership with Local Authorities towards the delivery of the National Air Quality Strategy.
• Maintaining and supporting our guidance on air quality assessment, making available our air quality monitoring data via the Internet.
• Working to develop and evaluate traffic control systems which reduce vehicle emissions.

To achieve a reduction in noise emissions the Agency is:

• Ensuring that when a road needs a new surface, the most appropriate noise reducing surfaces are used where noise is a particular concern.
• Specifying quieter surfaces as a matter of course where new roads are to be built or existing roads improved.
• Identifying sites for the provision of noise mitigation such as noise barriers and double-glazing. Researching tyre/road noise in partnership with vehicle standard authorities and the tyre industry.
• Working towards improved performance in noise control during construction/maintenance activities.

To achieve a reduction in emissions to water the Agency is:

• Organising a research programme to develop an understanding of highway runoff and its environmental impacts both on our own behalf and in partnership with the Environment Agency.
• Developing new drainage systems to reduce the impact of highway runoff on the environment.
• Attaining improved performance from contractors in pollution control during construction.
• Providing better information for the handling of road spillages to ensure that, when they do occur, drainage facilities are managed in the most effective way.
• Providing effective maintenance of road drainage, which helps prevent pollutants reaching streams and ponds.
• Issuing guidance on using vegetative treatment systems to treat highway pollutants.

To achieve a reduction in light pollution the Agency is:

• Providing high cut off lanterns that only direct light downward, for all new or replacement highway lighting.

Some key tools for managing the Agency's operations in relation to the reducing emissions are:

• Air Quality Assessment
• Better Business Practice
• Considerate Constructors Scheme
• Guidance and Specifications
• Environmental and Landscape Management Tools
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Environmental Management Systems
• Partnerships
• The New Approach to Appraisal

Monitoring Progress

The Key Performance Indicators relating to reducing emissions are set out in the Agency's 2003-2004 Business Plan as:

Progress against the KPIs will be reported in the Highways Agency's Annual Report.

In 'Strategic Roads 2010, the Highways Agency Ten Year National Road Strategy' the Agency has set two targets in relation to noise reduction, these are:

• By 2010, complete a programme of local noise reduction measures to benefit those people living alongside noisy roads that are not subject to the latest noise mitigation standards
• By 2010, have installed quieter surfaces on over 60% of the network, including all concrete stretches, to benefit an estimated 3 million people living within around 1/3 mile of trunk roads The Agency is developing performance indicators for nuisance associated with emissions in maintenance contracts such as: Number of complaints received for noise, vibration, dust and mud by value of works Number of complaints received for noise, vibration, dust and mud by value of works unresolved after 4 weeks

Future Development

• Active Traffic Management (ATM) will have associated benefits of reducing emissions (for more details see Future Development in Reducing Energy Consumption)
• The Agency has commissioned further research into understanding the mechanisms involved in the generation of tyre/road noise between different tyre type and road surface combinations.