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Respecting the environment
Our approach in 2002-03
Minimising the impact of the trunk road network on the natural and built environment is one of our key objectives. We work in accordance with our environmental strategies set out in "Towards a balance with nature" to deliver a balance between the needs of road users, neighbouring communities and the broader environment. The key to our approach is ensuring we have robust appraisal processes in place so any investment we make in the trunk road network is fully considered for its impact on the environment.
In 2002-03 we extended the coverage of our appraisal processes to address the environmental impacts of all but our smallest investment decisions. Beyond this investment appraisal we also have made progress in programmes to address the management and maintenance of our network in pursuit of environmental improvement. For example to reduce the impact of road traffic noise we have made progress in delivering our commitment to install quieter surfacing over 60% of the network by 2010. A programme detailing the resurfacing of all of our concrete roads was also published.
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Case study - Motorway landscaping
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Schoolchildren from the Woodhouses Primary School, adjacent to the M60 in Oldham, were asked to help with our tree planting programme in April 2002. The pupils planted trees on a plot near the school; a small part of the overall planting programme of 110,000 trees and shrubs for the eastern section of the Greater Manchester Outer Ring Road.
The trees and shrubs, mostly woodland species, have been planted on motorway embankments and on the residential sides of the environmental fencing. The landscaping project has been designed to integrate the new planting with existing trees and hedges on nearby local roads. Ornamental planting and hard landscaping have also been included alongside carefully selected local road locations and two areas remote from the motorway have been planted to provide environmental screening.
This work now brings the total planting on the M60, between Denton and Middleton, to 355,000 shrubs and trees.
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Monks Flood North Bridge is a Grade 2 listed structure originally constructed in the late eighteenth century. It is located in a lay-by off the A38 just north of Burton-upon-Trent. During December 2001, flash floods partially collapsed the west side of the bridge undermining the carriageway above.
The Agency had to design a scheme to safely reconstruct the damaged part of the bridge while paying due respect to the heritage of the structure. This involved the construction of a temporary retaining wall to enable the public to continue using the bridge, whilst stonemasons dismantled the damaged section block by block. This meant the structure could be rebuilt to its existing appearance as far as possible.
The rebuilding work took place using salvaged stone where possible and matching stone approved by the local authority, through the listed building consent process. Structural concrete was also used to strengthen the structure to modern design standards but was hidden from sight when the road over the bridge was rebuilt.
Case Study - Historic bridge restoration
In support of the Government's Biodiversity Strategy we have started rolling out our Biodiversity Action Plan, published in March 2002, which sets targets for the protection and encouragement of wildlife on our land, including endangered species. In addition we continue to implement management plans across our network to:
- Protect cultural heritage.
- Improve air quality.
- Improve the landscape next to our roads.
- Protect and encourage biodiversity and wildlife on our land.
- Resurface roads, using low noise surfacing wherever possible.
Our performance in 2002-03
We have achieved 73.75% against our target of an average of 95% across the four environmental sub-indicators - noise, air quality, biodiversity and landscape. We achieved our targets for noise and air quality and had 56.1% of our network under biodiversity management (target of 60%) and 79.3% under landscape management (target 85%).
The main reason for the failure to meet these targets was the large-scale reorganisation of our maintenance areas and the appointment of a number of new contractors – this disrupted progress as new contractors became familiar with their new geographical areas.
Looking to the future
We continue to seek ways of improving our environmental performance. Implementing the reorganisation of our specialist staff will provide greater environmental support to project delivery. Additionally, following a recent review of our performance measurement, we are revising our performance measures to more accurately reflect environmental outcomes on the network.
We will continue to use re-cycled construction materials wherever possible, to minimise the impact of our operations on watercourses, and to install more efficient and less light polluting streetlights. Also, as we review our office accommodation needs, we will seek solutions that help reduce our energy needs.
