Highways England has launched two competitions to inspire the UK’s most creative minds to create ground-breaking ideas to revolutionise roads and driving
Highways England has set aside £20m to invest in projects to revolutionise motorways and major A roads.
It is inviting innovative entries which will help develop digital roads – connected vehicles and infrastructure, design and construction that reduces cost and improves safety, better and more predictable journey times – and to improve air quality.
Anyone interested in entering the competition is encouraged to join a webinar, hosted by Innovate UK and Highways England on 14 February.
The types of benefits which road users and local communities could see as a result include better quality journeys, improved road safety, more efficient use of vehicles, enhanced public spaces and improved health.
Entries open on 11 February.
Mike Wilson, Highways England’s Executive Director for Safety, Engineering and Standards, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs, collaborative partnerships, and organisations of any size to help shape the roads of the future.
“We want to explore new and innovative approaches and invest in the best.
“And we’re keen to engage with a wider network than we have traditionally worked with.
“Together we can make great improvements both to people’s journeys and communities and the environment around our network.”
Homes England is looking to invest in creative solutions covering six themes:
- Design, construction and maintenance
- Connected and autonomous vehicles
- Customer mobility
- Energy and the environment
- Operations
- Air quality.
Examples of projects could include roads which repair themselves, robotic construction methods, and improved connections between different modes of transport.
Further details of the funding, and of the webinar are available on the Innovate UK website.
