Motorway standards for traffic promised for A roads by new Government company

Upgrading A roads to motorway-style 'expressways' with freer-flowing traffic, 400 miles of smart motorways, fewer short-term road repairs and a 40% cut in deaths and serious injuries are among the new Highways England's strategic objectives for the next five years.

Highways England, the name for the new Government-owned company to manage the strategic road network in England, has set out its strategic business plan for 2015-2020. This includes timescales for delivering major improvements requested by the Government, including to the A14, A27 and A1, and to start construction of a Lower Thames Crossing in 2021.

The response to the Road Investment Strategy also sets out plans for improving the existing network, including a smart motorway network across the country, and turning non-motorways into 'expressways' by converting junctions to left-only and exit or grade-separated junctions and installing variable message signs, incident detection technology and emergency refuges. The company says: "In time, drivers using much of the non-motorway network will experience a service normally associated with our most advanced motorways."

The company will also strive to further cut the cost of maintenance, reduced by a third since 2010, including by reducing the number of road closures to carry out small scale, 'find and fix' repairs, which wear out more quickly, and to spread work throughout the year. "The current annual funding cycle means we often plan work in the spring and summer and carry it out in the autumn and winter... [this] means the work deteriorates at a faster rate."