Highways Agency

The Highways Agency’s role in Eurocodes

Implementation of structural Eurocodes: Phase 2

As a public body, the Highways Agency will specify structural Eurocodes for the design of all highway structures as soon as it is practicable to do so.  The Agency has been preparing for the introduction of Eurocodes for some time now, and its technical experts have been involved in the drafting of the Eurocodes and the National Annexes.

The Agency, along with a number of leading consultants, have been examining the potential impact of the new codes during their development and in 2003 the Agency awarded framework contracts to Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) and Atkins to assist with their implementation. 

The objectives of the Agency's project are:

• To confirm that the Eurocodes can be used safely and economically for bridge design in the UK
• To prepare the bridges-related UK National Annexes and other relevant non contradictory complimentary information (NCCI) such as the Published Documents (PDs) in conjunction with the BSI technical Committees.
• To develop complementary technical requirements, including a comprehensive review of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges.
• To establish an Agency-wide implementation strategy and develop a detailed programme for the use of Eurocodes on Agency schemes.

The Highways Agency's Project Manager for the Implementation of Eurocodes is Annette Pass.

Eurocodes awareness training

Awareness training, intended to inform bridge engineers about the forthcoming change to Eurocodes, has now been held in a number of locations.  Training in London was held at the Institution of Civil Engineers’ headquarters in June 2006 and at the Institution of Structural Engineers’ headquarters in November 2006.  Further training was held in Edinburgh at the Scottish Executive in May 2007 and in Belfast, under the auspices of Northern Ireland Roads Service, in November 2007.

The awareness training covered items of interest to bridge engineers, including an overview of the Highways Agency’s strategy for Eurocodes and an introduction to load combination rules, traffic loading, design of concrete, steel and composite bridges, and geotechnical aspects for bridge engineers.

In addition, Eurocodes Expert organised a series of roadshow events across the country in November 2007 to further raise awareness amongst civil and structural engineers.  In particular, the events covered the likely effects of Eurocode implementation on individual engineering organisations and on the UK construction industry as a whole, as well as a technical overview of the Eurocodes.

Institution of Structural Engineers: Standing Committee for the Implementation of Eurocodes

The Institution of Structural Engineers established the Standing Committee in response to a recommendation in the report prepared by the Institution for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.  The report called for a group to be established to monitor all aspects of the process of implementation of the Eurocodes and to advise on changes to the strategy that will be necessary as the process progresses.

Whilst the Standing Committee is an Institution committee, it will act on behalf of the structural engineering community and involves representatives from a wide range of organisations covering all sectors of the industry.  The first meeting was held on 3 December 2004 at the Institution's headquarters to discuss the workings of the committee and the most recent meeting was held on 1 November 2007.  Further details may be obtained from the Institution of Structural Engineers website.

Professor David Nethercot is the Chairman of the committee and the Technical Secretary is Dr. Sue Doran. The terms of reference for the committee are to oversee, update and modify the strategy for implementation of structural Eurocodes in the UK.

Sibdas Chakrabarti represents the Highways Agency on the Committee, and there are a number of other representatives from across the profession and the industry.