Northamptonshire County Council hopes to commission a study setting out proposals for an integrated approach to highways investment, technology and management on the outlined Major Road Network (MRN), Transport Network can reveal.
The high level report would look at enhancements through the use of technology and multi-agency collaboration on specific sections of the MRN - a concept developed through a Rees Jeffreys Road Fund report by former government advisers and officials David Quarmby and Phil Carey.
The study would include proposals for a pilot scheme on the A43/A45 route and the link between the M1 Junction 15 and the A45 Junction 17 Rushden Lakes - an area county council officials say is ‘under major pressure’ from new developments along its length.
The report would have a budget of around £25,000, with a draft planned for mid-February and a final document ready for early March. The aim is that any proposals could be delivered within a three-year time period and inform a wider roll-out, Transport Network understands.
Tony Ciaburro, corporate director for place commissioning at Northamptonshire and report spnsor, told Transport Network: ‘We have shared the plans with the National Infrastructure Commission. What we are trying to do is develop an integrated approach that is greater than the sum of its parts.
‘We want to see if without extensive infrastructure changes we can achieve benefits that compliment each other. We are taking a corridor approach because it is easier for the pilot, but we hope the findings will apply across the whole network.’
The planned report would have two strands:
Strand One:
This would outline how key agencies such as Highways England, transport authorities and the Police, which are responsible for different aspects of the MRN, could develop and effective collaborative approach.
This would cover investment, technology, management and maintenance and would propose new working arrangements to increase efficiency.
Strand Two:
This would include proposals for the A43/A45 route pilot. This route was identified as qualifying for the MRN in the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund report and has also been identified as a future Expressway route.
Technology:
Initial research from Northamptonshire Highways suggests that new technology can deliver major enhancements on the route at around £500,000 per mile.
The types of technology include:
- improved communications, enabling infrastructure to vehicle, vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure
- Variable Message Signs for incident, traffic management (including HGV routing and parking) and variable speed limits
- emergency response areas (if feasible)
- above ground detection
- CCTV for incident and traffic management and enforcement of moving offences specifically use of mobile phones and red-light running
- smart traffic signals
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