The Welsh Government is to launch Highways Wales as a single public-facing brand for the country’s trunk road network, bringing together the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent, the South Wales Trunk Road Agent and Traffic Wales.
Andy Falleyn, the Welsh Government’s chief engineer and deputy director of the strategic road network, announced the plans at Highways Live Cymru this month. A full public launch is planned for January 2027.
“Highways Wales gives us a platform that brings together the work of the Welsh government, our trunk road agents, Traffic Wales, and the wider highways communities,” Falleyn said. He added that the aim was to raise awareness of activity across the strategic road network, highlight the people delivering it and strengthen engagement with partners, state owners and the public.
Existing delivery model to remain
The move will not immediately alter Wales’s public sector operating model, procurement arrangements or policy. Gwynedd Council will continue to act as the managing and lead local authority for North and Mid Wales, while Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council will continue in that role for South Wales. The councils will remain the legal entities overseeing procurement.
The arrangement differs from National Highways in England, which is a government-owned company with the transport secretary as its sole shareholder. Highways Wales will remain rooted in the Welsh public sector, with the existing regional structure continuing beneath the new brand.
Mark McNamara, head of service at the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent, said there would be no immediate change to jobs, structures or the way contracts were managed. He said the brand was intended to provide clarity about the organisation and recognise those involved in delivering, maintaining and operating the trunk road network.
Richard Jones, head of the South Wales Trunk Road Agent, said the unified identity could help attract talent, develop supply-chain partnerships and make the network’s collective objectives clearer to the public.
Funding and performance measures
Falleyn said the creation of Highways Wales would not bring multi-year funding automatically. Budgets will continue to be subject to annual ministerial approval, although the organisation could provide greater consistency and clarity about expected investment over time.
He said the Welsh Government may develop a limited set of performance indicators, with safety, carbon and the collection of better network data likely to be priorities. The intention, he said, was to avoid creating an unnecessarily large system of key performance indicators.
The Welsh Government is also seeking to increase the proportion of public procurement awarded to suppliers based in Wales. Jones said the trunk road agents were discussing procurement models with industry, including how social value and the government’s stated ambition for 70% of procurement to be met through Wales-based suppliers might be applied.