What we do

We're the government company which plans, designs, builds, operates and maintains England’s motorways and major A roads, known as the strategic road network (SRN)

We manage and improve the strategic road network to make journeys safer, smoother and more reliable.

Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery.

Safety

We want everyone who uses and works on our roads to get home safe and well. By planning and designing roads that meet the highest levels of safety, we can reduce the number of fatal or serious injuries. Road to Zero Harm is an exciting and ambitious road safety initiative that we’re championing

Our roads are some of the safest in the world. Our traffic officers, who patrol our roads 24/7, are at the frontline of keeping you safe.

They’re supported by control room operators through activities such as setting signs and signals to alert you to hazards in the road.

We also run regular safety campaigns to inform and educate people how to drive safely on our roads.

Customers

With more than four million journeys taking place daily, our roads play a vital part in many people's lives. We recognise that you may have concerns and expectations related to our work and we want to hear your views.

We work closely with Transport Focus, the UK’s independent consumer watchdog, to share information and collaborate on research. Their Strategic Roads User Survey provides us with a wealth of insight – from journey time, surface quality and roadworks management to roadside information and safety. We use this information to help meet your needs and expectations. 

We also run many other ongoing customer related research activities, and offer other ways for you to share your views with us such as events and exhibitions, roadwork drive-throughs, social media and community insight apps. You may also have seen our customer ‘chatty van’ at your local retail park or community centre.

You can also contact us through our customer contact centre and our social media communities.

Delivery

Since 2015 we’ve invested billions in new routes and extra capacity, such as the A14 in East Anglia and a ‘spine’ of smart motorways up and down the country.

We also plan and manage a programme of works to make sure our roads and the various structures along them are safe.

In everything we do we aim to deliver best value for the taxpayer, without compromising quality.

Through our statutory planning role, we work with local authorities, developers, community groups and others to make sure their voices are heard. Through this work we help create jobs, get housing schemes off the ground and keep the country moving.

Traffic and transport legislation, regulations and policy are the responsibility of the Department for Transport.

Our traffic officers have powers to stop traffic so that incidents can be safely dealt with, and sometimes pass on evidence to the police if they witness dangerous driving or other offences. However, we’re not an enforcement organisation.

If someone is breaking the law you should contact the police on 101, or on 999 if the situation is urgent or life threatening.