Long-term funding for highways: insights from Traffex

The difference in tone between last year’s Traffex and this year’s edition was much more optimistic – summed up in the opening panel by chair Marie-Claude Hemming, director of operations for the Civil Engineering Contractors Association. 

‘It’s an exciting time for roads,’ she said. Despite global challenges, there is a positive environment in terms of UK policy, direction of travel, and the promise of more consistent investment in infrastructure. This nationwide workplace survey honours and celebrates the UK’s top employers – which number over 500 organisations across industries and scale – and highlights the best workplaces for women, the LGBTQIA+ community, disabled employees, ethnic minorities, younger and older workers, as well as those that provide the best wellbeing support.

Show highlights  

1. A clearer direction of travel 

The panel discussion ​‘Delivering under the new spending review’ provided an insight into the new government’s progress over their first ten months in charge. With Labour’s spending review on June 11 set to provide much more specificity over long-term planning for highways infrastructure, the panel focused on the previous year and encouraging signs – while also striking a bit of a cautionary note. 

Plans for multi-year investment strategies were talked up by Simon White, chair of CECA Highways Maintenance Group – though emphasis elsewhere from Anne Carruthers, director of environment at Leicestershire County Council, stressed that ​‘funding doesn’t matter whether it’s three years or five years’. It needs to be rolling in order to see projects through design, procurement, and construction. 

Rachael Gittens, deputy director of Strategic Road Network at the Office of Rail and Road, cited a report from 2011 that discussed how stop-start funding slowed delivery and increased costs. Now the 10-year national infrastructure strategy should help move projects beyond short-term electoral cycles – just as long as any future change of government doesn’t tear up established plans. 

2. Devolution to local government 

In the same talk, the discussion around devolution of planning to local authorities focused on how it enables more strategic planning at a larger scale, particularly in highways and transport. By creating direct communication channels between local leaders and central government, more devolution will allow for more influence over setting local priorities. 

The result will be a more pragmatic approach to determining which functions are best managed at different levels of governance, though Marie-Claude Hemming of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association began more cautiously, ​‘Devolution gives me great anxiety, not because it’s a bad idea, but you’re just worried that there’ll be so much delay and switching over of resources that projects will be delayed, and there’ll be challenges, and there’ll be unanticipated challenges, even though eventually you will get to a better place.’ 

3. Challenges from aging infrastructure and more 

Many talks highlighted how a significant portion of the UK’s highway network, constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, is now reaching the end of its life, posing major renewal challenges. 

Local authorities face the burden of high-cost projects. Ann Carruthers of Leicestershire County Council discussed her challenges. ​‘The levels of funding we’re getting now does not really address renewals,’ she said. ​‘If you’ve got any significant renewals, you cannot do it with the funding grant of a local authority. I’ve got bridge at the moment where the renewal will cost £20 million, wiping out my annual allocation.’ 

The conclusion: current funding levels are not sufficient to meet these demands. The panel stressed the need for resilient, adaptable planning that can keep pace with evolving policies and technologies. 

How Re-flow supports the future of highways 

At the show, our CMO Ashley Wing presented a talk in collaboration with HTM’s Head of Development, Danny Thorn, titled, ​‘Driving change with digital field operations’. 

The session walked through how HTM used Re-flow to replace fragmented systems and manual processes with a scalable end-to-end field management platform. Their digital transformation addressed common concerns – from compliance and document control to operatives’ confidence in using technology on site. Intuitive, easy-to-use software tailored to the compliance needs – plus digitised forms like the 12D traffic management assessment form, sped up with automations and made accessible instantly in the office – allowed for more robust management. The result: higher standards, visible KPIs, and evidence of compliance automatically stored in the company database. 

By streamlining audits, tracking training in real time, and automating daily workflows, HTM now saves hundreds of hours each month and has improved both safety standards and operational efficiency. Their approach has become a benchmark for what’s possible when digital tools are aligned with industry needs. 

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