Highways maintenance accounts for a significant percentage of UK infrastructure spending. Key areas include road surfacing, drainage for new construction and improvements and street lighting and furniture. It is now generally recognised that sizeable investment is required to make the UK’s road network fit for purpose. Considerable investment is being directed to fix road problems such as potholes, a situation exacerbated by recent UK weather conditions. The industry is also being shaped by environmental and sustainability considerations, which have led to investments in cycling infrastructure in major cities such as London, as well as the introduction of energy-saving and energy-efficient products (e.g. LED street lights).
The UK highways maintenance market is valued at approximately £10.5bn and represents a major component of UK infrastructure spending. This figure is thought to be growing, due to the considerable investment in road maintenance and construction which is currently taking place.
Public sector capital spending remains under constant pressure, a situation which has led to squeezing of many highways maintenance budgets. However, the Government has committed to major spending and investment programmes in the road network, as well as other transport projects driven by factors such as increased road congestion, rising population levels and deterioration of roads by adverse winter weather.
Non-domestic construction output in the UK was valued at nearly £97bn in 2018, according to latest estimates from AMA Research. This represents an increase of around 2% from the previous year. A further rise in output value to almost £100bn is anticipated in 2019, due primarily to growth within the infrastructure sector.