Andy Murdoch is a partner at engineering, design and advisory practice Buro Happold
The announcement on 30 July by the chancellor Rachel Reeves to cancel several major highway projects and conduct a wider review of ‘unfunded projects’ has had a significant, unexpected impact on road users, local communities and the construction industry. While it is evident that the decision was largely driven by financial constraints, the new approach needs to address the longer-term challenges the industry faces.
“The current approach is reminiscent of 19th-century infrastructure thinking”
Transport infrastructure commitments are typically planned and delivered over the long term. With the previous government, there was a marked shift towards more sporadic, short-term planning, and over the last few years this was particularly noticeable.
However, constant scope changes, significant delays and recurring overspend on planned initiatives has meant that there is now around £1bn ‘on paper’ that needs to be found to deliver these projects just in the year ahead.
Many of these were aimed at enhancing the highways network, which typically enables the movement of people and goods over longer distances at higher speeds. The new government is rightly trying to address this shortfall by ‘moving fast and fixing things’. But what we’re still missing here is longer-term thinking.
Why do we need this longer-term view? The climate crisis is not going away. The transport sector remains the single biggest contributor to carbon emissions and, as such, we simply cannot continue to promote our overreliance on car usage. If nothing else, this approach, reminiscent of 19th-century infrastructure thinking, needs a reboot.
What could we be doing instead?
Across the UK, the rest of Europe, Asia, the US and beyond, it’s becoming increasingly important to re-evaluate our obsession with speed and the relentless drive for consumption. Moreover, we fully expect transport to become more devolved in the UK towards regional or local authority decision-making.
The construction industry’s expertise in highways and other major infrastructure is phenomenal. This expertise is incredibly valuable for getting us ‘moving’ at a local or regional level. By this I mean embracing an integrated approach to getting more people ‘connected’ locally, whether by walking, wheeling, cycling or taking public transport.
Perhaps this line in the sand could serve as a real turning point, where some of the funds initially earmarked for major highway expansions could be redirected towards enhancing local sustainable transport networks. This could help reinvigorate local economies, while improving safety, air quality and reducing our carbon footprint at the same time.
Additionally, there’s an argument to be made for investing more in the maintenance and improvement of our existing, well-developed transport and infrastructure systems rather than expanding the network further. For example, we are aware of many ‘assets’ such as bridges and gantries that are at the end of their design life and need to be upgraded.
Again, a more holistic and integrated approach could be very valuable – learning from our neighbours on the continent, for example, in places where they typically ensure concrete doesn’t crack and projects are delivered on time. This would ensure that our current infrastructure remained safe, got delivered efficiently and was sustainable.
In England, I’d personally suggest that now is an opportune moment to initiate a broader discussion on the need for transformative changes to protect our planet, including a long-term transport strategy – taking inspiration from Wales and Scotland. It’s certainly time to move beyond traditional thinking and embrace a vision-led approach that addresses the pressing issues of our time. Let the collaboration begin.
