UK heading for gridlock in the face of rapid roadwork growth
New data shows the country faces a perfect storm of increasing road works and road usage, set against significant collaboration challenges between utilities and local authorities.
New research from Causeway Technologies the UK’s leading digital construction and maintenance technology provider, shows the UK is heading for roadwork gridlock in the face of rapid infrastructure upgrades, increasing road usage and poor cross-industry collaboration. The report has been developed in partnership with ADEPT.
Data from digital road management platform, Causeway one.network, offering the most complete picture of road and street work activity in the UK, shows that the number of roadworks across the UK increased by 42% between 2019 and 2023, with over 203,000 miles of roadworks taking place last year alone.
In addition to scheduled and emergency road maintenance, works by utility firms are rising rapidly, driven by Project Gigabit, asset upgrades and water leaks. Project Gigabit contributed to a 108% increase in telecoms-driven roadworks between 2019 and 2023. In the same period electricity works have risen by 25%, water works by 8%, and gas also by 8%.
With the Department for Transport predicting a 54% increase in road usage by 2060, Causeway research finds that an alarming number of utilities (72%) and local highway authorities (LHAs) (62%) leaders believe that we are headed for a road and street work crisis by 2030 without greater industry collaboration.
Leaders from highway authorities and utility companies cite challenges in planning, management and communication, coupled with growing demand for road access, are all contributing to inefficiencies in how works are completed.
A worrying 81% of LHA respondents believe management and communications in roadworks and street works could be improved. Seven in ten in utilities (71%) believe roadworks and street works are currently planned in a disjointed way.
Both LHAs (58%) and utilities (54%) cited poor collaboration as the main barrier to effective work. Half (50%) of LHAs said that the extreme demand for road access from a multiplicity of different utilities firms prevents road work planning and management from becoming more efficient.
Amidst the gloomy outlook, there are some positives with individual works taking less time to complete on average (down by 15.8% between 2019 and 2023).
Nick Smee, Director for Infrastructure, at Causeway, said: “The rapid rise in roadworks is largely a result of important infrastructure upgrades. These are critical to the UK’s future prosperity. But, it’s clear that if the industry continues to work in the same ways the wheels are going to come off.
“Closer collaboration between everyone involved is vital to rolling out critical new services, whilst mitigating disruption to road users. Ensuring widespread access to clear and up to date data on planned works is a critical piece of the puzzle that the Causeway one.network platform is dedicated to solving. When everyone can see what’s happening when and why, opportunities for collaboration and smarter planning will be crystal clear.”
Mark Corbin, Chair of ADEPT National Traffic Managers Forum said: “We need a new era of collaboration where utility companies, contractors, local highway authorities and community stakeholders form strong alliances to plan, deliver and reduce impacts of roadworks. Improving communications and transforming behaviours is not just a necessity, but must be seen as a strategic national imperative.
“I am pleased that ADEPT’s National Traffic Managers Forum has chosen this moment to put their voice into what has been an ongoing industry-wide conversation. As we navigate the road ahead, let the findings from this report be more than a guide: let it be a catalyst for change.”
Read the full findings from Causeway’s inaugural Road Ahead report here.
