Our challenges

Our future vision for the strategic road network (SRN) up to 2050 is set out in our ‘Connecting the Country’ report. This, together with our three imperatives of safety, customer and delivery – is the guiding light for our innovation priorities.

Diagram illustrating our future vision

‘Safety’, ‘Customer’ and ‘Delivery’ remain our three company imperatives and these are the guiding principles to our vision.

We have looked at the steps we may need to take over the coming decades, including the changes to operation and practice which could be required. In addition, we have also developed our Health and Safety: Innovation Priorities 2018-2020, setting out a clear vision for the challenges we face, and a 30 year Pavements Innovation, Technology and Research Plan.

Many of the changes will be strongly linked and we have identified five change themes.

Our ambitious steps to achieving the long term vision for the Strategic Road Network are grouped within the five change themes and will support these step changes alongside present day business requirements.

Publications

Connecting the country (PDF 5MB)

Health and Safety Innovation Priorities 2018-2020 (PDF 2MB)

30 year Pavements Innovation, Technology and Research Plan (PDF 1MB)

Innovation change themes and challenges

Steps to the future SRN

Design, construction, and maintenance	Deploying new materials and construction techniques	Increasing asset connectivity and digitisation	Automating construction to speed up delivery	Creating a network of self-sustaining, smart assets
Connected and autonomous vehicles	Providing network connectivity	Realising fully connected and safer roads	Preparing for a driverless network	Supporting CAV-only roads
Customer mobility	Providing for new mobility choices	Creating high quality connections for our customers	Enabling seamless journeys across integrated transport modes	Providing guaranteed customer journeys
Energy and the environment	Reducing impacts on our neighbours	Progress reduce, reuse and recycle	Phasing out internal combustion	Improving the environment, with a positive bio-diversity footprint
Operations	Optimising use of data	Integrating networks between the road, operators, and customers	Creating an intelligent, self monitoring, and reactive network	Achieving a near zero disruption network