08/09/2026
Yesterday we opened the doors of our Roadways depot to senior engineers and graduates from WSP, together with representatives from National Highways’ asset, pavement and engineering teams, for a practical discussion about how we can build and maintain roads differently.
The agenda and discussions went well beyond simply looking at materials.
• Cold bitumen emulsion based asphalt, including how it already replaces conventional hot or warm AC20 and AC32 base and binder on Strategic Road Network and local authority roads.
• Value engineering with HBM/CBGM to reduce pavement construction depth. On suitable Category A / Strategic Road Network designs, this can mean up to 50% less excavation, fewer construction layers and less material movement, with potential savings of 20–40% in cost and programme and up to 70% in materials-only carbon, depending on the design.
• Recycled unbound aggregates and how locally produced secondary materials should be replacing virgin aggregates.
But perhaps the most important conversations were not about individual products at all.
They were about collaboration and early contractor engagement providing contractors and material specialists with the opportunity to challenge a design before construction starts.
Exploring different contracting models for highways maintenance that reward whole-life value, innovation and better outcomes rather than simply repeating what we have always done.
This is exactly the type of open technical collaboration we would like to see much more of.
Roadways the right way means not simply building what is on the drawing, but working together to ask whether there is a safer, faster, lower-carbon and better-value way to deliver it.
