Highways & Roads

SYSTRA has more than 50 years’ experience in roads and highways feasibility, design, engineering and delivery – helping to create safe, efficient and appropriate road networks throughout the UK.

Building the UK’s local and national road infrastructure

Improving existing highway networks is an ongoing process for local authorities and national highways agencies. Roads need to be designed to connect people and places safely and efficiently, to support economic growth, ease congestion and create a sustainable infrastructure for the future. Similarly, developers of residential, industrial, commercial and retail estates need to provide appropriate access roads, which connect seamlessly with existing highways.

There are many challenges to delivering safe and efficient road networks. There are always financial constraints and time pressures on any road building programme, and the approvals process is complex. Health and safety is a major consideration at all stages, and the routes to procurement can be challenging.

To make the process as cost-effective and efficient as possible, SYSTRA highways and roads specialists provide complete planning, design and engineering services to support developers and authorities at every stage of their road building programmes.

SYSTRA’s multi-disciplinary expertise supports local authorities, developers and highways agencies deliver safer roads and highways at a regional and national level.

One-stop shop for highway design and delivery

SYSTRA road and highway consultancy services encompass road and drainage design, road safety audits, Construction Design and Management (CDM), geotechnical services, environmental and ecological surveys, highway structural engineering, landscape architecture, traffic signal control, street lighting and project management.

Our road and highways capabilities draw on multiple disciplines from across our business, including civil, structural and drainage engineering, noise and air-quality consultancy, environmental services, planning, procurement and regulatory expertise.

Supporting every stage of road development

Our clients rely on SYSTRA to provide a complete cradle-to-grave service, from initial conceptual planning, feasibility studies and funding advice, through preliminary design and detailed design and on to procurement and construction project management and administration. We help schemes to achieve statutory approvals and road construction consent, advise on procurement models, provide contract administration and ongoing site monitoring services. Complementing our industry-leading traffic and transportation services, our engineering capability allows us to provide clients with a balanced, practical, deliverable and cost effective service.

Our flexible highways design services for private, local and trunk roads, help clients to gain statutory approvals, such as Section 278, Section 38, Section 106 and Section 104, as well as Road Construction Consents and Section 56 approvals. Our expert team are also well versed to assist clients negotiate Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) and other legislative requirements.

Highway bridges and structural engineering

We have wide-ranging expertise in designing highway structures, including bridges, drainage structures, car parks, retaining walls and foundations for major traffic signs and CCTV masts.

Our bridge expertise enables us to provide comprehensive inspection, assessment and design services for new and existing bridges, including road, rail and pedestrian bridges that intersect the highway.

Construction Design and Management (CDM)

SYSTRA has the experience to provide the roles of both Designer and Principal Designer under the CDM Regulations 2015 – and we can advise clients in respect of their duties under these regulations.

Road Safety

To help create safer road networks, we can provide the full range of Road Safety Auditing services for both local authority roads and the trunk road network. By analysing complex traffic problems and studying traffic accidents, our traffic engineering specialists can also help clients to develop effective road safety schemes.

Procurement advice and contract management

Choosing the right type of procurement contract can have a significant impact on ultimate construction costs for highway schemes. SYSTRA has extensive experience of delivering construction contracts for everything from small-scale developments to multi-million pound projects. We can tailor the procurement route to each client’s needs, whether design-and-build or traditional re-measure contracts. We prepare site-specific contracts, organise the tender process and ultimately administer and supervise the construction contract on site.

How can our experts help?

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