National Highways is to invest £1 million from its Innovation Fund in a project seeking new ways to protect people working on England’s strategic road network.
Interim chief executive Nick Joyce announced the initiative during his first speech in the role, at Highways UK 2026 on 14 October. The organisation will invite innovators, suppliers, technology companies, small and medium-sized enterprises and other industry partners to submit ideas.
Reducing exposure to risk
Joyce said the aim was to deliver a “step-change” in the day-to-day safety of roadworkers, rather than make incremental improvements to existing practices.
“It’s about finding technologies, equipment, ways of working that can enhance and eliminate exposure to risk for anyone that works on the roads,” he said.
National Highways intends to create a route for ideas to be tested, developed and adopted at scale. Joyce said the ambition was to accelerate innovations that could protect roadworkers from harm and ensure that people working on the network could return home safely.
He also called for the sector to be bolder in developing routes to market for highways innovation more broadly. Data and other technologies, he said, could improve how National Highways monitors and manages its projects.
Concern over implementation
Joyce said one of his concerns was that promising ideas were not consistently being put into practice.
“We have great ideas, but they don’t always or often end up actually being implemented in practice, and we need to challenge ourselves as to why that is?” he said.
National Highways has been set tough delivery targets for the next five years, with a focus on investment in the existing network. Joyce said the goal was to reach the end of the current road period with a more resilient network, fewer unplanned disruptions and an improved experience for users.
Inconsistent quality identified
Joyce acknowledged that the quality of work on the network could be inconsistent. He pointed to shortcomings ranging from incomplete site handovers and aftercare to larger issues, including work not being built to the correct design or materials not being used appropriately.
“These are all things we need to better on,” he said, referring to the improvements required in delivery quality.