The government’s commitment to increased road infrastructure spending is generating a stronger pipeline of construction opportunities across the highways sector.
Multi-year capital budgets announced through the 2025 Spending Review are expected to provide greater certainty for projects requiring long planning and delivery times.
Under the Department for Transport’s Road Investment Strategy 3, almost £25 billion has been allocated to operate, maintain, renew and enhance the national network. This includes £8.4 billion for major structure renewals and road surface replacement, as well as £3.8 billion for road improvement schemes aimed at increasing capacity and reducing congestion.
The stronger outlook is reflected in Glenigan’s latest Construction Industry Forecasts, which predict a sharp increase in civil engineering projects over the coming years. Increased road infrastructure spending is expected to be one of the key drivers behind forecast growth in the sector.
Image: National Highways - M3 motorway Junction 9 improvements
Glenigan data points to a substantial pipeline of road infrastructure and highways schemes progressing across the UK, ranging from nationally significant transport projects through to local authority maintenance frameworks.
Among the largest schemes is the £1.3 billion A66 Northern Trans-Pennine Project, where Balfour Beatty/Urbaser JV, Kier Construction and Keltbray Group are among the contractors involved. Work is currently underway and is due to continue until the end of 2028 (Project ID: 17343745).
Other major road improvement schemes include a £122 million A47 dualling and improvement project in west Norfolk, due to commence this autumn (Project ID: 21141425), and a £45 million A650 improvement scheme in Bradford, which is also expected to start this autumn (Project ID: 20315023).
The sector is also set to benefit from a £165 million government fund announced earlier this year to unlock stalled housing and employment developments by providing supporting road infrastructure.
Framework opportunities
In West London, Ealing Council’s £168 million Highway Maintenance Term Contract is at pre-tender stage and is expected to begin next spring. The contract includes pothole repairs, resurfacing, footway works and emergency maintenance activities (Project ID: 26367232).
Meanwhile, Essex County Council’s £3 billion Highways Framework will cover road infrastructure improvements and new projects over the next seven years and is also expected to commence next spring (Project ID: 23308630).
Additional opportunities highlighted by Glenigan data are emerging through Nottingham City Council’s £3.6 million Highways Patching Framework, which will cover asphalt patching and hand-lay works across the city (Project ID: 26314932).
Consultants can also target Norfolk County Council’s £92.4 million Highways and Infrastructure Professional Services Contract, which is due to be advertised later this year (Project ID: 26335929).
