Skip to main content

International Safer Roads Conference focus on highway maintenance funding

UK road planners and engineers attending next month’s International Safer Roads Conference will find out how to avoid losing part of their highway maintenance funding from the British Government. In the Department of Transport document, ‘Gearing up for efficient highway delivery and funding’, Robert Goodwill, MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, warns that local authorities will be incentivised to take up asset management to make the most from allocated resources.
April 30, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
UK road planUK road planners and engineers attending next month’s International Safer Roads Conference will find out how to avoid losing part of their highway maintenance funding from the British Government.

In the Department of Transport document, ‘Gearing up for efficient highway delivery and funding’, Robert Goodwill, MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, warns that local authorities will be incentivised to take up asset management to make the most from allocated resources.

It is proposed that every highway authority will receive baseline funding, with additional funds, as much as 10%, for those with an asset management strategy in place.

The Roads Minister will be addressing the Conference, which is being held in Cheltenham, western England, from the 18 – 21 May 2014. UK delegates will be able to share best practice to help prepare a strategy to avoid losing any vital funding.
The underlying theme of the Conference is ‘saving lives through safer roads’ and delegates are travelling from around the world to share their experience and knowledge.

Dr Chris Kennedy, chairman of the organising committee, says they will be discussing the ever-changing issues of climate change and increasing traffic flows, as well as how types of vehicles place more pressure on existing materials and practices.

“The papers being presented also look at how to achieve more for less in what are challenging times”, he explained.

The 4th International Safer Roads Conference is co-sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation, 1009 New Zealand Transport Agency and 3312 WDM Limited. Delegates will consist of engineers, practitioners, policy makers and other professionals from central and local governments, academics from universities and research organisations, consultants and contractors.

Dr Kennedy says the Conference will help encourage authorities to become more innovative to achieve best value in road and runway safety maintenance and practices.

“Studies have shown that driver behaviour can be linked with the road environment to produce innovative ways to reduce accident rates and these changes also need to use the appropriate surface materials.

“Many countries have been showing reductions in headline numbers of killed and seriously injured, but as the opening keynote speaker from the Dutch Institute of Road Safety will be discussing, these headline figures often fail to show that the number of vulnerable users continues to rise,” he said. “No country can afford to be complacent about its road safety record.”

Full details of the Conference can be found on %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.saferroads.org.uk Visite Safe Roads website false http://www.saferroads.org.uk/ false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Pilosio exhibits its durable P300 formwork at bauma
    January 6, 2017
    Among Pilosio’s comprehensive range of formwork solutions on show at bauma will be the Italian firm’s P300 formwork. Used during the recent construction of a 560m overpass in Bucharest, Romania the P300 is said to be based on a 100x300cm base panel with a few simple accessories, such as a quick connection block to allow extremely rapid framework operations, and a varnished frame and surface counter-cast in 18mm thick, high resistance, multi-layered Finnish panels to ensure high number of uses.
  • Pilosio exhibits its durable P300 formwork at bauma
    February 15, 2013
    Among Pilosio’s comprehensive range of formwork solutions on show at bauma will be the Italian firm’s P300 formwork. Used during the recent construction of a 560m overpass in Bucharest, Romania the P300 is said to be based on a 100x300cm base panel with a few simple accessories, such as a quick connection block to allow extremely rapid framework operations, and a varnished frame and surface counter-cast in 18mm thick, high resistance, multi-layered Finnish panels to ensure high number of uses.
  • World Highways contributor Max Lay wins Peter Nicol Russell award
    December 9, 2014
    The Institution of Engineers Australia has awarded World Highways contributor Dr Maxwell Lay the prestigious Peter Nicol Russell medal for his contribution to science and engineering. According to the citation, the medal is the most prestigious award made by the institution. “The recipient represents the technical, professional and community service standards of engineering to the profession and the community.” May received degrees at Melbourne University and the US university Lehigh in Pennsylvania.
  • Transport Research announces new UAE Student Award initiative
    September 22, 2016
    Leading transport consultancy and research firm to recognize UAE's smartest students and their proposals for sustainable traffic solutions at Gulf Traffic 2016 September 21, 2016 The UK-based Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has set up the TRL Student Award in the United Arab Emirates. The initiative will award some of the country’s top student minds for their proposals of innovative and sustainable transport solutions in a special awards ceremony on the sidelines of Gulf Traffic 2016, which wi