Roads Minister: Time to share ideas

Roads Minister Andrew Jones has called on local authorities to share ideas and learn from one another when it comes to adopting asset management.  

Speaking at the Technical Advisors Group Conference earlier this week, Mr Jones said: “I know that of the 150-plus highway authorities in this country, many are doing very similar things in different ways, rather than pooling knowledge and expertise for common gain.

“The real, challenge, of course, is how to do this in an era of devolution. It would be easy for the government to tell local authorities what to do. But that wouldn’t stimulate innovation and the sharing of good ideas.

“So we want to leave the field open for highway authorities to take the initiative, to share ideas, and to learn from one another.”

The Minister also highlighted the use of technology as a way of supporting highway maintenance.

He added: “Right across the transport sector, new technology and ways of working are transforming how we get things done.

“It’s a great opportunity for highways maintenance. For example, technology can help us collect information about our assets, to ensure better decision making, to understand more about the materials we use and whole-life costs. This is the right time for us all to shift our thinking as a sector.”

You can read the Minister’s speech in full here.