The government is investing £10 million to replace an “out-of-date and ineffective system,” with a free new digital roadworks alert system. This will allow technology companies and app developers like Google Maps and Waze to incorporate real-time data on the 2.5 million roadworks taking place across the country each year.
The Department for Transport aims to launch the digital planning service, dubbed “Street Manage” next year. The new service will enable drivers to plan journeys that can take into account scheduled roadworks, Minister for Roads, Jesse Norman said in a release shared on Monday. The DfT did not provide any technical details.
Roadworks Alert
According to the announcement its goal is to “replace a costly and ineffective system,” while also providing “more consistent, accurate data on street works.”
The real-time data that Street Manager will create and collect will be made available, for free, to application developers and technology companies.
Roughly 2.5 million roadworks are carried out by local and government bodies every year in England. Street Manager will contain not just a record of the work been carried out by these government entities, but will also be designed to report on the work undertaken by utility companies.
The government is trying to tackle delays caused by roadworks which affect not just people commuting to work, but has a drastic effect on the logistics involved in keeping goods and service fully available and operational at reasonable costs.
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Commenting in an earlier release Minister Jesse Norman stated: “Roadworks are the bane of drivers’ lives, causing delays and costing the UK economy £4.3 billion a year.”
Another way in which the government is trying to tackle delays caused by roadworks is through permit schemes, which over 65 percent of authorities in England have in place in varying degrees.
Under a roadwork permit scheme utility companies are charged daily for the work their carry out on busy transportation networks at peak times. Companies can be charged up to £2,500 a day under this scheme.
