Route Strategies
Our high-level approach to informing
future investment on roads
The roads managed by Highways England provide businesses with the means to get products
and services to their customers, give access to jobs and suppliers, and encourage trade and
new investment. They are essential to the growth and balance of the nation’s economy. It is
important that planning for the future of these roads reflects national and local aspirations and
is based on firm evidence.
Route Strategies are one of the key steps of
research required for developing the Department
Illustrative
for Transport’s Road Investment Strategy for Road
Figure 2.2
Period
2, covering the period 2020-2025, hereafter
Network performance 2012/13
Delay
referred
to as RIS2.
South Pennines – Route-based strategy – Map 2 of 4
M6
Blackburn
M
65
Burnley
M
61
A56
In 2015, we published the first set of Route
Strategies, describing the condition and
performance of our roads, issues affecting them
and the investment priorities for the Strategic
Road Network for Road Period 1: 2015 – 2020.
This was a significant step forward - our roads
were comprehensively assessed link-by-link and
junction by junction for the first time. This in turn
meant that the first Road Investment Strategy (RIS)
was built on a stronger evidence base than any
previous roads programme.
M65
M
23
M
A6
)
(M
27
A6
)
(M
27
A663
Wigan
M
60
M602 Manchester
A628
M67
A5
60
A5103
Warrington
M56
M56
5
A5
56
Manchester Airport
M
Vehicle Hours Delay
(April 2012 – March 2013)
6
Vehicle Hours Delay is an estimate of the total travel
time experienced by all road users over and above the
expected theoretical free-flow travel time.
 Route Strategies
Top 10%
 Highways England publishes Strategic Road
Next 10%
Network Initial Report on the state of the
network and suggested priorities
Next 20%
The evidence identified through this process
will be vital to inform the development of RIS2.
Ministers will use this to identify where problems
are most severe, and where the need for action is
greatest. Much of the work of developing the next
RIS will use the route strategies as its foundation.
Next 20%
Next 20%
Bottom 20%
Evidence used in drafting RIS2
 Department for Transport produces
Decision
Road Investment Strategy
 Highways England produces
Strategic Business Plan
 Office of Rail and Road advises Government
No data available
South Pennines - Leeds media services N130396
on efficiency of both
RIS2 finalised and published
Mobilisation
 Scheme development
 Highways England publishes Delivery Plan
1 April 2020 – Road Period 2 begins
Delivery
2
A628
7
M62
M62
 Strategic Studies
Research
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66
Bury
Bolton
M
The next set of route strategies will bring together
information from motorists, local communities,
construction partners, environmental groups
and across the business. This information will
be reviewed to help us better understand the
performance of our roads and shape our investment
priorities to improve the service for road users and
support a growing economy.
M62
The rest of this document provides an overview
of the approach we will use to prepare route
strategies and how everyone can get involved.
Scope of route strategies
We will complete 18 route strategies, covering all
of our roads and building on the approach we
took in the first round. Each strategy will cover
a key strategic route, providing a description
of the key centres of population and industry,
and international gateways served by the
route, the type of road, its current performance
and constraints. We will consider options for
maintaining, operating or enhancing roads,
including on local roads where these may bring
about benefits such as alleviating congestion, on
the strategic road network. Where appropriate,
this could include influencing driver behaviour,
or recommend looking further at other modes
of travel. Where an area has a number of route
strategies that are all relevant, such as east
and west connections and around Birmingham
and Leeds, we will ensure the interfaces are
addressed.
In December 2014, our Strategic Business Plan
was published, describing how we aim to provide
modernised and reliable roads that reduce delay,
creates jobs and helps businesses compete
while opening up new areas for development.
Safety, free flow of traffic, the environment, and
RIS1 Strategic Vision as reiterated in RIS
Post 2020: Planning ahead
integration and accessibility will remain a key
focus while preparing our proposals.
As with the previous generation of route strategies,
this will involve reviewing traffic flows, congestion
and safety. Environmental evidence will also
play an important role. We will make sure that
challenges on our roads are being assessed
in light of the very latest evidence available to
us. We will also ensure that any developing
proposals for investment can be assessed on a
consistent basis, so that ideas coming forward
from motorists, local communities, construction
partners, environmental groups and from our own
teams are properly understood before decisions
are made about potential investment priorities.
The Government’s vision for transforming the
strategic road network is described in the Road
Investment Strategy post 2020: Planning
Ahead. This vision builds on the five broad aims
published in the Road Investment Strategy for 20152020: economy, network capability, integration,
safety and the environment. Using the evidence
from route strategies, we will develop proposals that
can help bring Government’s vision for roads to life.
Highways England Strategic Business
Plan’s Key Outcomes
Economy
Supporting Economic Growth through a modernised
and reliable network that reduces delays, creates jobs
and helps business compete and opens up new areas
for development
Network capability
More Free Flowing Network where routine delays are more
infrequent, and where journeys are safer and more reliable
Safety
Safe and Serviceable Network where no one should be
harmed when travelling or working on the network
Environment
Improved Environment where the impact of our activities is
further reduced ensuring a long term and sustainable
benefit to the environment
Integration
More Accessible and Integrated Network that gives people
the freedom to choose their mode of transport and enable
safe movement across and alongside the network
3
Route
strategies
London to Scotland East
London Orbital and M23 to Gatwick
London to Scotland West
London to Wales
Felixstowe to Midlands
The division of routes for the
programme of route strategies on the
Strategic Road Network
Solent to Midlands
M25 to Solent (A3 and M3)
Kent Corridor to M25 (M2 and M20)
South Coast Central
Birmingham to Exeter
South West Peninsula
A1
London to Leeds (East)
East of England
South Pennines
A19
A69
North Pennines
Newcastle upon Tyne
A1
Sunderland
Carlisle
Midlands to Wales and Gloucestershire
North and East Midlands
M6
South Midlands
A1(M)
A66
Middlesbrough
A595
A174
A66
Information correct at
13 March 2015
A19
A590
A1
A64
M6
A585
York
Leeds
Irish Sea
M55
M65
Preston
M53
A180
M18
A616
M56
A1(M)
Sheffield
A46
M6
Stoke-on-Trent
A500
M1
A38
Nottingham
A52
Derby
A50
A453
A42
A38
A46
A5
M6
M42
M6 Toll
M5
M6
M42
Leicester
M69
Birmingham
A5
M45
Worcester
M1
A46
A40
M4
M4
Bristol
A5
A417
M1
M25
M40
A419
A404
M4
A303
Exeter
A30
Crawley
A35
A20
A21
Folkestone
A259
A23
M27
A3(M)
A27
A27
A30
A2
M20
M23
A36
A31
A249
M26
M25
A3
Yeovil
Southend-on-Sea
A13
M2
M3
A303
A120
A12
M4
A36
A14
M11
London
Reading
M32
A120
A1(M)
Oxford
A34
Ipswich
A11
A12
A34
M5
A14
Cambridge
A1
Milton
Keynes
A43
Swindon
A14
A428
M40
M5
A11
A45
A421
A47
A12
Peterborough
A1(M)
A5
M50
Gloucester
A1
A14
Coventry
A49
M48
Norwich
A47
M54
A458
Lincoln
A1
A5
A40
Grimsby
M180
A556
A55
A483
North Sea
A1
M60
M62
Kingston upon Hull
A63
M62
M1
A628
Manchester
M57
M1
M62
M61
M58
Liverpool
M606 M621
A56
Portsmouth
Brighton
A259
Torquay
A30
Plymouth
A38
English Channel
0 kilometres
0 miles
4
Highways Agency media services MCR N130206
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40
© Crown copyright and database rights 2015 Ordnance Survey 100030649
Involving motorists, local communities, construction
partners and environmental groups
We have already gathered a wealth of evidence
through preparing the last round of route
strategies and through our ongoing monitoring of
the condition and performance of our roads.
Building on the engagement we started in the
last round of route strategies, we will continue
to work closely with motorists, local communities,
construction partners and environmental groups
to support our understanding of the road network,
and identify where users and communities feel the
greatest priorities for investment are needed. We
have been listening to feedback and have taken
on board recommendations to further strengthen
our approach.
In this round, we want to further improve how we
reflect the issues and needs of our customers in
our route strategies. We are keen to ensure we
capture and reflect our customers’ views and
concerns in identifying problems and priorities
on the network, so we are commissioning
Transport Focus to conduct customer research,
supplementing our own customer insight panel.
Transport Focus surveys will be carried out very
soon around the country at motorway service
areas, retail parks, and other similar locations,
collecting customer information that will feed
directly into route strategies.
We also want to make sure that the full range
of stakeholders are fully involved in this round
of route strategies. We will lead a nationwide
programme of engagement, allowing national
and local groups to contribute their views and
build up a comprehensive picture of the needs
of the different parts of the network. Members of
Parliament, Local Authorities and Local Enterprise
Partnerships will play an important part in this
discussion, as will business and environmental
groups, residents’ groups and other interested
parties.
We will also be updating our approach to reflect
the emergence of new sub national transport
bodies, such as Transport for the North, so that
we make sure that route strategies recognise their
regional priorities. We are talking to the emerging
sub-national transport bodies about how these
relationships can prosper, and to enable them to
have a prominent role in setting strategies for the
network.
We will continue to engage with customers
and stakeholders throughout the route strategy
process and there will be a variety of ways that
issues and concerns about our roads can be fed
back to us, including:
„„ An online tool available on gov.uk for
customers and stakeholders alike to inform
us of issues and challenges on our roads
affecting them.
„„ Holding stakeholder events across the country,
giving interested parties a chance to offer their
views on problems and priorities.
„„ Establishing stakeholder panels to check and
challenge options that may be proposed in
the course of the route strategy process from
any source, to capture the perspective from a
broad spectrum of interests.
„„ Providing regular updates on progress
and opportunities to hear about next steps
throughout the process of preparing route
strategies; and
„„ Using existing dialogues between our
Highways England colleagues and our
stakeholders and delivery partners.
The evidence we gather that will reflect our road
users and stakeholder’s needs, will be used to
determine the locations which are priorities for
further investigation and potential action. We
want this to be a transparent process and all our
recommendations will be rooted in the evidence.
5
After route strategies
Getting started
The evidence produced in the route strategies
will be central to the development of the next
Road Investment Strategy. The information that
we gather will provide a consistent and thorough
picture of the condition and needs of the network,
and will be the main evidence base on which
decision-makers draw when coming up with the
next RIS.
In April 2016, we will contact a wide range of
organisations to start the process of collating the
evidence base, including sub-national transport
bodies, local government, Local Enterprise
Partnerships, business groups, road user and
environmental organisations.
The route strategies will be the foundation for
much of the thinking about where major new
investments should be after 2020. Alongside the
evidence being gathered by the Government, by
the Office of Rail and Road, by Transport Focus
and by individual stakeholders, it will play a major
role in shaping the next investment programme.
Many of the ideas put forward by others will
be considered with reference to the evidence
gathered in the route strategies, to make sure that
they are assessed on a fair and consistent basis.
If you would like to be involved in route strategies,
please let your Highways England contact know or
email us at:
[email protected]
7
If you need help accessing this or any other Highways England information,
please call 0300 123 5000 and we will help you.
© Crown copyright 2016.
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