Overview- Extended deadline for call for evidence to 12:00 pm 19 April 2024 

CIHT have launched a call for evidence to support the newly launched project on Resilience and adaptation to extreme weather events in the highways sector supported by the DARe Hub.

The call for evidence will help us gather information on successful and sustainable examples of the implementation of new materials, processes and practices that allow the highway to respond to emergency, stabilise and recover assets condition and reduce future risks associated with extreme weather events.

If you are interested in the project and would like to contribute, follow the link below to see the full call for evidence and how to respond.

We have extended the deadline to submit your evidence to 19th April 2024 at 12:00 pm.

The project 

The need for maintenance and renewals of the UK’s Road infrastructure is a problem that the sector has identified and highlighted for the past years, impacting the accessibility to transport services and their provision.

The ageing infrastructure is also constantly and increasingly being exposed to wear and tear from extreme weather conditions. Extreme weather events have also become more frequent and extreme, accelerating the impacts on our roads and on the ability of the sector to deliver seamless services to all communities. 

The need for maintenance and renewals faces now the additional challenges of adapting our infrastructure and services in the face of the effects of extreme weather events to create a resilient infrastructure (materials, design and construction processes).

The joint CIHT/DARe project aims to produce a report on resilience and adaptation to extreme weather events of the UK road infrastructure, focusing particularly on:

• the challenges posed by aging structures and the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events
• good practice of design, implementation and construction processes that allow the road infrastructure to respond to emergencies, recover asset conditions and reduce future risks associate with extreme weather events
• building a call for investing in maintaining, renewing and adapting our roads to extreme weather

Update on the project 

CIHT has hosted an initial kick off workshop in January 2024 to identify the main challenges that the highways sector currently faces to ensure that our road infrastructure is designed, built and maintained to allow to respond to emergencies, stabilise and recover asset conditions and reduce future risks associated with extreme weather events.

Below are some initial issues raised that will be further investigated in the project:

•  Need for decisions to be based on better asset knowledge and better asset inventory
• Need for long term incremental decision making
•  Focus the use of limited funding to address high risk areas and intervene where most needed
• Need for Systemic thinking- interdependencies of different infrastructures (for example telecoms, energy etc)
• Assessment of risk based on vulnerability of users and stakeholders in different areas- regional/geographical differences
• Need for knowledge sharing on best practice and cross-organisational working
• Preventive maintenance with the use of long-life materials

How can I get involved? 

Please complete our call for evidence to help us shape this project and see your contribution included in the final report. 

Download the full call for evidence here, fill in the fill in this document and return it , together with any attachments, to technical@ciht.org.uk by Friday 19th April 2024, 12:00 pm. 

Additional resources on resilience and climate change 

CIHT and DARe Hub kick off project on resilience to extreme weather 

CIHT Resilience Masterclass key takeaways

New CIHT Podcast: Why transport resilience matters

New CIHT Podcast- Navigating the challenges of climate change adaptation | CIHT