UK motorway roadworks 'best in Europe'
Britain's motorway roadworks are well-organised
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Thursday, 28, Sep 2006 01:04
British motorway roadworks are the best in Europe, according to independent inspections commissioned by the AA Motoring Trust.
Compared to major highway repair operations in nine other countries on mainland Europe, Britain's "very good" general assessment was judged to be the best. One motorway, the M42, did even better, winning an "outstanding" plaudit for its daytime roadwork layout.
Especially praiseworthy were the 24-hour free tow-away service, effective sign placement strategies and consistently rigorous speed camera enforcement, the AA Motoring Trust survey found.
"On the basis of four UK motorway roadworks sites being rated 'very good', including the near-perfect M42 daytime site, expert European road engineers appointed by the Eurotest consortium judged the UK to be best," Paul Watters, head of roads and transport policy for the AA Motoring Trust, said.
He warned, however, that "there is still clearly room for improvements to UK motorway roadworks that wouldn't cause that much of an upheaval in current practices".
"In particular, better information leading to and through sites could help to improve driver attitude to roadworks and safety."
The UK's unique practice of changing traffic flow layouts at night-time also received some negative feedback, despite being cited as a good idea which other European nations would eventually adopt.
Accepting these criticisms, Ginny Clarke, chief highway engineer for the Highways Agency, welcomed the AA Motoring Trust's report as a recognition of Britain's efficient roadwork systems.
"We are delighted with the recognition in this important study of Britain's commitment to road safety for drivers and road workers and the high quality of the work, often at night, to keep motorways open for use during the busiest times," Ms Clarke said.
"We continue to look for innovative ways of reducing delays to drivers while essential work on the country's strategic roads takes place."