Highways Agency

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Image:Highways Agency.svg
Highways Agency logo

The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England. It operates a variety of information services, laises with other government agencies as well as providing staff to deal with incidents on their roads.

Contents

[edit] History and operations

The agency was created by John Major's government in 1994.[specify] The current Chief Executive is Archie Robertson, formerly Director of Operations at the Environment Agency.[specify]

The Agency is responsible for operating the Strategic Road Network in England which consists of most motorways and the important A roads.[1] It has a length of 6,500 miles (10,461 km) which accounts for 33% of all road travel and 50% of lorry travel[2]

The Highways Agency network is split into 14 operational areas,[3] which are managed and maintained by agents, often a joint venture between a civil engineering consultancy and contractor.[specify] In addition, there are some sections of road that are managed by DBFO contracts separate from the area teams, such as the A30 east of Exeter and the M40.[specify] This gives a total of 34 operational areas.[citation needed]

[edit] Traffic Officers

In April 2004, Highways Agency Traffic Officers began working alongside police on motorways in the West Midlands.[4] They work alongside the police in England in an attempt to reduce congestion caused by incidents. Overall it was estimated to cost the UK economy £3billion a year with the closure of one lane estimated at up to £400,000 an hour. The introduction of the officers was aimed to reduce the 25% of delays caused by collisions by around 5%.[4] The roll out of traffic Officers was completed on July 18 2006 and they now cover the whole of the English motorway network,[5] using high-visibility patrol vehicles.[specify] They are supported by Incident Support Units.[specify]

Image:HATO Vehicle.JPG
A typical Highways Agency Traffic Officer vehicle

They have the legal authority to manage traffic, close roads, lanes or carriageways, place and operate signage and operate traffic surveys.[6] In addition they will also be involved in clearing accident scenes, debris and otherwise keeping traffic moving.[5]

Drivers are obliged by the Traffic Management Act 2004 to comply with the directions given by Traffic Officers.[7] This is explained in rule 108 of the Highway Code.[8]

“ Highways Agency Traffic Officers have powers to stop vehicles on most motorways and some 'A' class roads, in England only. If HA traffic officers in uniform want to stop your vehicle on safety grounds (e.g. an insecure load) they will, where possible, attract your attention by
  • flashing amber lights, usually from behind
  • directing you to pull over to the side by pointing and/or using the left indicator

You MUST then pull over and stop as soon as it is safe to do so. Then switch off your engine. It is an offence not to comply with their directions.

”

[edit] Control Centres

[edit] National

The Highways Agency operates the National Traffic Control Centre, which is the information hub of the English strategic road network.[specify]

The £160m centre is based at Quinton near Birmingham and is responsible for providing accurate, real-time information to the driving public.[specify] It collects information from MIDAS electronic loops in the road surface, CCTV cameras[9] and over 250[citation needed] operational partners including the police and local authorities.[specify]

It then disseminates this information to the public using 2,500 roadside variable-message signs[10] and the Traffic England website[specify] and the telephone based Highways Agency Information Line (HAIL)[11] as well as distributing information to the media.[9][12] Together with Transport for London it also operates a digital radio station, Traffic Radio, which will be available via DAB and the Internet.[specify]

[edit] Regional

Traffic Officers are supported by seven Regional Control Centres across England, some of which are jointly staffed by the police and the Highways Agency.[13] The control centres answer the orange ERTs (emergency roadside telephones) on the motorway and trunk road network,[specify] liaise with breakdown organisations,[specify] allocate Traffic Officers to incidents,[specify] manage and monitor traffic[13] and control the electronic signs on the roads.[13] They also supply information to the National Control Centre.[13]

[edit] Traffic England

Traffic England is the Highways Agency brand for traffic information.[specify] Currently there are two public channels delivering information on the Highway Agency's road network: a web service at: Traffic Information for England and a phone service.[specify]

The service gives you the latest traffic conditions as well as details of any roadworks or events that may cause congestion.[specify] By selecting current motorway information you can see what is being displayed on all the variable-message signs and even the average speed between individual motorway junctions.[specify] You can also download your own traffic ticker so the latest traffic news appears straight on your own desktop.[specify]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Traffic Control Centre Project. The Highways Agency's Traffic Control Centre Project. Highways Agency. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  2. ^ Trunk Road Proposals and Your Home. Highways Agency. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
  3. ^ Map of the Agency's operational areas. Area Teams. Highways Agency. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  4. ^ a b "Civilian patrols police motorways", BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation, 2004-04-26. Retrieved on 2008-01-01. 
  5. ^ a b Highways Agency (200-607-18). "Traffic officers patrol all motorways in England". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  6. ^ Why the Highways Agency has Traffic Officers. Highways Agency Traffic Officers. Highways Agency. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  7. ^ Our Roles and Responsibilities. Highways Agency Traffic Officers. Highways Agency. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  8. ^ Highway Code. Directgov. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
  9. ^ a b Overview. National Traffic Control Centre. Highways Agency. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  10. ^ "Festive test for transport network", BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation, 2007-12-21. Retrieved on 2008-01-01. 
  11. ^ Better Information (PDF). Highways Agency (May 2004). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  12. ^ Services to be Delivered. The Highways Agency's Traffic Control Centre Project. Highways Agency. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  13. ^ a b c d Regional Control Centres. Highways Agency. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.

[edit] External links

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