Highways Agency

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Information about the Highways Agency

Q Why do roadworks overrun?

Despite the careful planning and surveying that is carried out in all cases prior to work starting, unforeseen events may still occur and are the main cause of roadworks overrunning. These can include:

• inclement weather
• unforeseen ground conditions
• problems with buried services such as pipes, cables, etc
• contractors’ vehicle or plant breakdowns
• road traffic incidents
• high traffic volumes, which prevent traffic management systems being installed

Often it is a combination of more than one of these factors that causes roadworks to overrun.
 
Q Why are “average speed” cameras used through roadworks?

Average speed cameras detect the speed of a vehicle between two points, which can be kilometres apart, and keep traffic at a near constant speed. As a result, traffic flows more smoothly.

This leads to much better speed limit compliance than with other systems and also more consistent speeds through the works. Both of these results have a positive benefit for the safety of road users as well as the work force, as not only is the speed reduced but the speed up/slow down effect caused by traditional safety cameras is much reduced, if not eliminated altogether.

Q Why is the speed limit through roadworks on Motorways 40 mph when it used to be 50mph?

For safety reasons, when traffic management is installed on a motorway, we advise that the speed limit is reduced to 50 mph.

However, there are occasions where conditions for road workers and/or drivers are particularly hazardous and the speed limit has to be reduced to 40mph. These are where operatives are working close to running lanes or in a restricted space within the traffic management or where narrow lanes are in operation.

Q Why is weather sensitive work e.g. resurfacing, scheduled in the winter when it is quite likely work will overrun?

Maintenance work has to be scheduled throughout the year across the entire motorway and trunk road network. We aim to complete as much weather sensitive work as possible before December each year.

However, there are many factors affecting the programming of works including the demands on road space, resources, budgets, and holiday periods, so it is inevitable that some work will have to be carried out during the winter.

There are generally fewer vehicles on the road between September and April – fewer vehicles means a slightly longer working period per shift, so in theory work can be completed in fewer shifts.

During the summer, particularly over weekends, much higher traffic volumes make greater demands on the network, thus reducing the available working period. Careful management means that overrunning in winter can be kept to a minimum. In addition, modern materials are far more robust giving better performance in cold temperatures.

Even so, there are risks associated with winter road working, such as bad weather and a greater possibility of accidents because of reduced hours of daylight. These factors are taken into account when deciding whether or not to proceed with the work.

Q Why are there major roadworks taking place in the summer when more people are on the roads, especially in the South West?

These tend to be the larger, long-term road improvement schemes, where it is not always possible to avoid summer periods because of the duration of the contract.

Locally and nationally agreed embargoes are imposed, stopping work on Bank Holidays and key weekends during the summer, wherever possible. This may not be feasible with larger construction sites, although every attempt is made to keep lanes open for the travelling public.

In the South West we have a policy of avoiding non-essential maintenance work during the peak holiday period.

Q Why is some construction undertaken at night, creating noise when people are asleep?

On very busy stretches of road, work is often programmed to be carried out overnight. A balance has to be struck between the noise nuisance caused to local residents and the congestion caused by disrupting traffic during peak hours during the day.

Where overnight works are planned, particularly noisy operations are kept to a minimum and local residents are informed of progress. In extreme cases, particularly large construction schemes, the Agency may arrange for residents to move temporarily to alternative accommodation.

Q Who is responsible for litter clearance on motorways?

The Highways Agency is responsible for litter collection on motorways in England. Litter clearance, sweeping and debris collection are carried out on a regular basis by our managing agents.

Litter picking alongside a high-speed carriageway is a dangerous task and appropriate traffic management is required, depending on the location. The frequency of litter picking often has to be balanced with the risks involved.

Part of our response is to encourage people not to drop litter in the first place. The Agency has launched anti-litter campaigns such as the one in the south east, where leaflets and in-car litter bags were distributed, to persuade road users to take their litter home.

Q Who is responsible for litter clearance on trunk roads?

Responsibility for litter collection on most all-purpose trunk roads rests with the appropriate local or district councils. In some parts of the country we have set up litter forums with local authorities to discuss the best way of dealing with the litter problem.

We encourage local authorities to take advantage of traffic management set out for grass cutting or other maintenance by litter collecting at the same time.

Q  What is being done to eradicate ragwort from the network?

Ragwort is classed as an “injurious” weed under the Weeds Act 1959 as it is poisonous to livestock. We take our responsibility for the removal of ragwort from the motorway and trunk road network very seriously. It is a difficult plant to control and requires a long-term and systematic approach as the seeds can remain dormant in the ground for over 20 years.

We dedicate significant resources to its control each year but it is not possible to eradicate entirely because plants can spread from adjoining land. Our managing agents are required to follow the DEFRA code of practice and also apply our own specific guidance to ragwort control at the roadside. Control measures are particularly targeted at locations where livestock is most at risk.

Q  What is being done to reduce the nuisance caused by traffic noise from the network?                                                                  

All new road construction or widening schemes are subject to an environmental assessment, which includes an estimate of the likely increase in noise levels. We are required to offer insulation to occupiers of eligible properties if the noise level on a façade of their property rises to or above a specified level.

Q. Why are there cones on the road when no one is there?

We know that this is a big issue for our customers. Sometimes, there’s no obvious reason why there’s no visible workers at our roadworks.

Explaining to our customers on hard signs or electronic displays at roadworks is difficult as the reasons are often complex.  A lengthy explanation can distract drivers. Messages that are too concise can be interpreted in many ways, reducing the value of the message. We’re trying to improve this by using customer research to find out which messages are most appropriate.

The main reasons you might see roadworks but no workers are:

• Costs and time
  We often work at night, partially removing the roadworks during busy daytime periods so that we can keep traffic moving. But to remove and reset the entire roadworks each day would take a long time. This would delay the project, delaying motorists for longer and increasing the cost to the economy.
• Safety of road workers
  Opening lanes during busy periods helps relieve congestion for our customers. But it sometimes means we can’t work there as we have removed the safety measures which protect our workers.
• Construction materials setting
  After a road has been laid it takes time for it to harden and gain strength so it can be used by motorists.  We keep the area coned off until this process is complete.
• Weather
  Sometimes weather such as heavy rain can stop us from doing some types of work, such as painting lines on the road.  Because this is often a temporary problem, it would be very inefficient for us to remove all the cones, only to replace them when the weather improves.
• Accident damage and unseen dangers
  During planned roadworks, we can look ahead and make sure we have materials and equipment ready at the right time. But if an accident damages part of the road, we will have to wait for these to arrive. Accident damage can often make part of the road unsafe to use, so we may have to protect road users with cones or other measures until we can fix the problem. We work hard to make sure these delays are kept to a minimum. Sometimes this damage isn’t very visible or obvious.
• Working out of sight
  Sometimes we could be working under a bridge or preparing materials elsewhere. But we still have to keep our workers safe, so our cones and speed restriction may still be in place. Some sets of roadworks can be several miles long, especially when we are widening sections of road. So it may be that we’re working on a different section of the road. Because these kinds of roadworks are very complex, it would be very inefficient for us to remove and replace all the cones whenever we move to work on different sections.
• Shift patterns and other restrictions
  Because we try to reduce disruption during busy periods, we often work in shifts. There may be times when the shift patterns, working time restrictions or contractual agreements mean there are periods when no one is working on the road. We also have to consider the environment. For example, we cannot do some types of work at night because of noise pollution.

Q Why do roads often remain closed for a long time after incidents?

Where incidents occur, the police retain responsibility for investigating any crime. They will also be in charge at the scene of major incidents on the network where there are serious injuries or fatalities involved. In these circumstances the police may need to close the whole motorway to prevent movement, destruction or contamination of any evidence and carry out a thorough investigation on behalf of the Coroner.

There is only one chance to do this and the investigation must be carried out immediately after an incident otherwise passing traffic may destroy the evidence.

Our role is to help coordinate the resources of the other emergency services, manage traffic and reopen roads as soon as the police have finished their investigations.

When it is safe to do so, the hard shoulder or available lanes are used to allow traffic to pass the incident. Where damage has occurred we will look to carry out the minimum repair necessary and return to complete repairs at a time which will minimise delays.

We continue to work closely with the police and other emergency services to minimise disruption as much as possible and keep roads open wherever possible.