THE BIG QUESTION eclare a climate emergency? 131:it'\fl!;i•tJ
Top reasons to enter the 2025 CIHT Awards
Scan to read more about sustainable roads at Tarmac
Gimme shelter
- One of the obvious impacts of climate change is more intense - heatwaves. For warmer countries, this can lead to potentially life-threatening temperatures, which are intensified in cities where heat is absorbed then re-emitted by buildings as part of the 'urban heat island effect'.
While many cities aim to provide more shade for their citizens, Madrid has gone one step further by installing bus shelters with in-built cooling systems.
Developed by outdoor advertising specialists JCDecaux and transport company EMT Madrid, the shelters use evaporation to cool the air inside the shelter by up to 9°C. Once the temperature goes above 25°C, a button can be pressed that starts the cooling and ventilation system, which features a water tank, an evaporative air-cooling module and a photovoltaic panel that supplies the shelter with solar energy to power a series of fans. The system also uses rainwater gathered from the roof and a honeycomb network of pipes to lower the temperature.
The Spanish bus shelter cooling system will be trialled and evaluated over six months, but there's every hope it can be rolled out across the EMT Madrid network, providing relief to its 0.5 billion annual passengers and encouraging drivers to swap their climatecontrolled car for a bus.
, V ya... endremos a pero, uien tiene rimera
Madrid's experimental bus shelters cool passengers down using evaporation technology and a series of fans
1. Col6cate en el interiorde la marquesina
2. Pu1sael botOn situado en el lateral def panel
3 Consigue bajar • hasta go el ambiente del memento
~CIHT
THE CHARTERED INSTITUTION OF HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORTATION
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Transportation Professional is available online in the My CIHT section of ciht.org.uk
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PODCAST
Don't forget to tune in to Transport Talks, available via Spotify and Apple Podcasts
CO INl7r1EINI7rS
SHAPETHE FUTUREOF CIHT
Voting CIHT members who are keen to influence change in the industry are invited to put their names forward for three ordinary member vacancies in the upcoming Council Elections 2025.
Council meets three times a year and is responsible for advising the Board of Trustees on the strategic and professional direction of the Institution. It acts as a sounding board for trustees and directors as part of policy development, and hosts outside speakers who contribute to debates, helping to shape CIHT's position on specific issues. Recent examples include presentations on Al as well as data and security.
"Our Institution is ultimately a reflection of our members," explains CIHT president Glenn Lyons. "We're a large and diverse community, and Council has a vital role in tapping into that diversity -diversity of individuals, geographies, disciplines, experience and expertise. Being a member of Council is an important role that provides the opportunity to address the big issues of our time and look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Institution alongside the opportunities and threats it faces."
The role of Council also includes approving nominations for honorary fellowships and awards, as well as the appointment of the vice president. Members serve on Council for three years, after which they can seek re-election for a further term.
Nominations must be supported by four voting members (members, fellows, associates, graduates, apprentices or part-time students) and the call for nominations will close on 23 February 2025. Nominations must be submitted online at mi-nomination.com/ciht
• For more information, please phone Peter Connolly on 0207 336 1559 or email governance®ciht.org.uk
6 Five minutes on ...
CIHT's plans for 2025
8 Five things to know about ...
The latest insights from the CIHT CLIMATESworkshops
10 Shift
New road surfacing solutions that adapt to climate change
12 The big question
Why declare a climate emergency?
FEATURES
14 Transport resilience
The effect of climate change on transport networks and what can be done about it
20 Carol Valentine
The life and times as the chair of the National Winter Service Research Group
26 Winvic roundtable
Elevenexperts in transport gather at CIHT HQ in London to discuss collaboration, decarbonisation and building more resilient networks to withstand the devastating impacts of climate change
A FASCINATINGYEAR FOR TRANSPORT
AS WE HEAD INTO 2025, LET me wish you a happy and successful New Year.I hope you and your family had a wonderful and relaxing holiday season, and that you're looking forward to a highly rewarding and fulfilling 12 months ahead.
This year promises to be a fascinating time in the transport and highways industry, with a wide range of national and international strategies that could change how we operate both as a sector and an Institution.
Whether it's government strategies or legislation from Westminster and the devolved countries, there will be some exciting conversations to be had. Since a key part of our work is influencing and shaping future transport policy and practice, we aim to be at the centre of them all.
OUT AND ABOUT
As well as a series of developments in transport, I'm looking forward to meeting more CIHT members this year. I really enjoy being out and about at events, hearing directly from members about the projects they are delivering and new work they are taking on.
At the end of 2024, I was in Northern Ireland at the launch of the Department for Infrastructure's Active Travel Delivery Plan. Attending these events is really important in terms of championing the sector, highlighting good practice and supporting our members who are part of the delivery teams.
It's really interesting to see how largescale strategic work comes together, placing transport at the heart of policy and development.
FOUNDATION BUILDING
Here at CIHT,we understand the value our members place on climate action and professionalism, as well as equality, diversity and inclusion, and I'm proud that these themes are foundations of our corporate strategy.
While the next 12 months will allow us to continue to listen to members and put into action your recommendations and ideas, we're also going to work hard at building on the strong base we have. We will examine how we can do more with the resources we have to improve member services, our range of professional development content and use of technology.
THANKS TO YOU ALL
Finally, I must take this opportunity to thank all members who have made invaluable contributions to the Institution in 2024, whether that's those involved with our regions and nations, the experts on our governance bodies, our technical specialists, attendees at our events or those who regularly use the CIHTLearn platform.
Without all your contributions, we couldn't do what we do and have the influence that we have, which is why so much of what we do will be focused on serving and supporting our members as we move forward into 2025.
"This year promises to be a fascinating time in the transport and highways industry"
Sue PercyCBE, chief executive, CIHT
Carol Valentine, chair of the National Winter Service Research Group
CIHT'S PLANS FOR2025
Discoverwhat the Institution has in store for the next 12 months and how you will benefit
WORDS/ SUE PERCY
- THE NEXT12 MONTHSWILLBE PIVOTAL - for the highways, transport and infrastructure sector. The new UK government is currently formulating a number of strategies to play out over the next five to 10 years. CIHT will be putting a lot of effort into shaping those strategies and adding the voice of our members.
Among that work is the industrial strategy, which will be pivotal for our sector. Transport is a foundation on which the strategy must be built, so it's important that we continue to articulate that clearly and take the opportunity to show leadership for our sector.
Then there are the planning reforms and the Treasury spending review, due in spring/early summer. For both, we'll be making strong arguments for transport and its role in society, as well as the need for transport to be funded with greater certainty, especially for local transport. On top of that, there's the Treasury's IO-year infrastructure strategy and the new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, as well as the Department for Transport's recently announced integrated transport strategy - which we had called for as part of our pre-election manifesto. All this work shows the importance of transport and the key activities CIHTwill be doing on behalf of our members in 2025.
Youask,we listen
For CIHT,there are a number of areas we will be focusing on. The main one will be to make sure that we continue to deliver value for money to members, ensuring that we listen to what you ask for and continue to provide the professional development, thought leadership, representation and qualifications you require.
Central to our success is membership recruitment and retention, so we're constantly working to ensure we're doing all the right things to retain our members and encourage new members to come into the Institution. Our Membership and Member Services Strategic Board looks hard at recruitment and retention, considering how we can make CIHTbetter for existing and new members.
We'll also be doing a lot of work on our digital strategy, understanding how evolving technology can improve the way we operate, communicate and engage. Whether that's the internal workings of the Institution, our website, using new technology including a new mentoring platform or increasing the scope and range of digital training through CIHT Learn.
We'll place a lot of focus on providing consistently high-quality CPD and training to keep our members up to date with the skills, competencies and knowledge they need in their roles. Furthermore, our research project is currently looking at skills and training needs in the sector and the team will present their findings in the spring.
A seat at the table
One of the outcomes of the recent CIHT member survey was a desire for us to increase our visibility with decision makers. So over the next 12 months, we're increasing the amount of resources we dedicate to engaging with key decision makers to establish a programme of active and consistent engagement with stakeholders.
We'll also make sure that CIHT and its members are at the table when stakeholders need the expertise of the sector.
"CIHTwill be putting a lot of effort into shapingthose strategies and addingthe voice of our members"
Sue Percy CBE is chief executive ofCIHT
Another outcome of the member survey was a request for more technical content in our resources, which will be built into our work in 2025. We'll also be working with our Learned Society and Technical Strategy Board about a programme to include policy briefings and whitepapers on topics such as transport and health, decarbonisation and last-mile delivery.
Hi, my name is...
CIHT members have also asked for an increase in opportunities to engage at face-to-face events. We all recognise the importance and convenience of online meetings, but real-life interaction is invaluable to many of us, so we're going to build on the sense of community we have in CIHT and consider how we can bring people together more.
On that subject, I'm delighted to announce that we're going to bring back our National Conference on 13 May 2025, a face-to-face event with a packed line-up of industry speakers. We're currently finalising content and topics but we're excited to revitalise this opportunity to network and learn from each other.
Other events in 2025 include our National Awards in June and Emerging Professionals Conference (EPC) in April. Held at Aston University in Birmingham, the energy, ideas and creativity at the EPC is always phenomenal, and there's plenty for everyone in the industry.
We'll also see the report on our CLIMATES project, which is being led by our president, Professor Glenn Lyons. There are a few more online workshops to be held at the start of the year, as well as a comprehensive research survey sent out to our members, which will feed into the report from the CLIMATESteam.
We want to ensurethat we provide you with the best possibleservice and supportthroughoutyour professionaljourney.As part of this commitment,we regularlyreview our membershipfees to ensure that we cancontinueto offer you allthe support,tools,guidance and resourcesyou need.
CIHT'sBoardof Trusteeshas decidedon a smallincreaseof3% for membershipsubscriptionrates in 2025, with the exceptionof retired membersand concessionaryrates.
UK
FCIHT
MCIHT
AMCIHT
Graduate
Retired
This keepsus in alignmentwith the currentinflationrate and reflects our commitmentto keepingfees as low as possiblewhilemaintaining and growingour servicesprovided to members.
The changeswillmeanthat from 1 January2025, a fellowpractising in the UKwillpayan extra £0.77 a month. ForUK members,there willbe a changeof £0.60 a month and a graduatememberwillpay an extra £0.19 a month.
Alongside our events programme, we'll be doing more to support those who come through our qualifications system, highlighting the benefits for people using our Professional Development Framework, which provides increased guidance for individuals as they work their way towards professional qualifications. Our work is a constant process of listening to our members, improving our service then refining what we do. I want that to continue because your voice is really important to us. Your thoughts, ideas and feedback are absolutely central to our plans for 2025. There are some real opportunities for CIHT and our members in 2025. It may not be easy, but we need to make sure that we're positioned to grab those opportunities when they occur and take them forward to ensure our Institution continues to remain strong and successful.
£239 £227
£186 £177
£110 £104
£58 £55
£66 £60
£25 £23
"We're excited to revitalise this opportunity to network and learn from each other"
EVENT HORIZON {1
To stay up to date with CIHT events in 2025, go to bit.ly/CIHT-events
FIVE MINUTES ON ...
CIHT CLIMATES
Discover the first set of insights from this groundbreaking series of CIHT workshops
WORDS / ANDREW CRUDGINGTON
- CIHT CLIMATESIS AN EXCITINGNEW
- initiative led by CIHTpresident Professor Glenn Lyons with two main objectives. The first is to give CIHT members a voice in how the Institution takes forward its commitment to climate action, while the second is to help transportation professionals identify the actions they need to prioritise and the skills they need to develop in response to the climate crisis.
This second task is far from easy since individuals and organisations face high levels of uncertainty about the future. How will climate change progress? What will be the political and industrial response in the UK and around the world? Which green technologies will be successful and which will be ineffective? And how will people want to use the transport system in the future?
To help navigate this rapidly shifting and challenging environment, CLIMATESuses different scenarios to explore the nature and operation of the transport system in different futures, and exploring what that means for transportation professionals and organisations. This insight is then used to focus on what needs to be done and who needs to do it over the next three to five years.
41Opentoall
Nearly 400 people are scheduled to take part in 10 in-person and four online CLIMATES workshops. The initiative is visiting all four UK
countries and holding special online workshops for professionals in India, Hong Kong and Malaysia. There's still time to get involved, either by registering for an online workshop or via an online research exercise that will be promoted to all members. The CLIMATESteam is keen to hear from a broad spectrum of people, so professional background, age or career stage are no barrier to taking part.
Fantastic CPD opportunity
~Everyone taking part in the workshops receives a high-level summary of Climate Outlook, a publication based on the work of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) and other expert sources, including an insight into how to use futures and foresight techniques. The workshops gives you the time to reflect with colleagues about a subject that will be central to the working life of transportation professionals for decades, while taking part in the survey offers the chance to explore the scenarios and reflect on personal priorities.
Reducingemissions and improving resilience
.;}) Even the most optimistic scenarios from the IPPC show that global temperatures are continuing to rise, so an increase in extreme
"· "
CIHT CLIMATES WORKSHOPS
Book your place at one of these online events
Hong Kong and Malaysia
20 and 22 January 2025 10am to 12.45pm GMT 6pm to 8.45pm HKT/MYT
India
27 and 29 January 2025 8.30am to 11.15pm GMT 2pm to 4.45pm 1ST
UK and worldwide
3 and 5 February 2025 10am to 12.45pm GMT
e lfyou would like to take part in the CIHT CLIMATES online workshops, please register at ciht.org.uk/ event/ciht-climates
"CLIMATES uses
different scenarios
to
explore the nature and operation of the transport system in different futures"
weather and other climate change impacts is built into each of the scenarios investigated by CLIMATES.The project also looks at the impacts of a changing climate on factors such as migration, the reliability of supply chains and the wider political and social environment - all dynamics that can have a big impact on transportation systems and how they're used.
AilFindings and recommendations in 2025 ==i~Theworkshop programme is scheduled to conclude on 5 February 2025 but the team has already begun analysing the input from the workshops and is expected to make recommendations to CIHT,industry, government and academia in areas such as skills, policy and regulation, research and innovation, and industry practices. A huge range of potential actions has already been proposed and the team will start to engage with the relevant stakeholders early in the New Year,with a view to securing buy-in to its findings.
IE Edit your own TransportationProfessional
To get a sense for how it feels to live inside the different scenarios, each workshop includes a voyage to 2035. At the end of this journey, participants are asked to imagine the headlines that appear in the magazine you're currently reading. As well as being a lot of fun, it provides a fascinating insight into the potential tensions between professional and public opinion in alternative futures.
FUTURE FOCUS
(] For more information about CIHT CLIMATES,please email Andrew Crudgington, CIHT climate change associate at andrew.crudgington®ciht.org.uk
THE BIG NUMBER
r- THE NOAA NATIONAL - Centers for Environmental Information in the US has released its 2023 Billion-Dollar Disaster report, which confirms a historic year in the number of expensive weather-related disasters throughout the country. In total, there were 28 weather and climate disasters in the US in 2023, surpassing the previous record of 22 in 2020. These disasters resulted in a price tag of at least US$92.9bn. With the 28 weather-related disasters costing the country at least a billion dollars each, this marks a pattern that's becoming alarmingly normal. The most expensive 2023 events were the Southern and Midwestern drought and heatwave, which
cost US$14.Sbn, and the Southern and Eastern severe weather in early March that cost US$6bn. In addition to the expense, weather-related disasters in 2023 also caused at least 492 direct or indirect fatalities -the eighth highest in the US since 1980.
Looking at the figures in a historical context, they're even more troubling, with 2023 being the fourth consecutive year in which 18 or more separate billion-dollar disaster events have impacted the US. Since records began for these type of events in 1980, the country has sustained 376 weather and climate disasters, with the cumulative cost exceeding US$2.66tn.
li=Oii
Surfacesolutions
Climate change is presenting a number of challengesfor road surfaces. Here's what's being done about it
WORDS/ PETER HYDE
- WHEN YOU CONSIDERTHE EFFECTS
- of climate change on road surfaces, there are two major impacts: the surface will be hotter and wetter. The increased temperature softens the road surface, which causes rutting and cracking. Those cracks will expand with the action of traffic and allow water to enter the road surface, causing potholes to form.
More rainfall also results in increased surface water run-off in storm events and ground movement. In areas where there's a lot of clay such as London, you also get clay shrinkage - something you often see on roads with a ditch down the side - which results in cracks appearing parallel with the side of the road.
Making the materials involved in road construction and maintenance more durable is becoming increasingly important as climate change alters our weather.
Materials that were suitable 20 years ago are now starting to struggle and many authorities are recognising that new solutions are required if our road network is to continue functioning. Fortunately, there are several solutions available.
Enhancedbitumen
For cracking in the road surface, there are a couple of things you can do. Polymer-modified binders add plastic to bitumen to create tailored plastics or polymers, which make the material more flexible so it can accommodate that movement without cracking.
You can also raise the softening point of bitumen, the point at which bitumen starts to behave more like a liquid. By doing that, you reduce its tendency to rut so you can tailor your asphalt to have a much better crack resistance.
In addition, you can adapt the mix design to alter the characteristics of the surface to give you better long-term performance.
When it comes to reducing flooding on the road, one of the best new solutions is permeable or porous asphalt. Rather than move the water to an already overwhelmed
"Materialsthat were suitable20 years ago are now startingto struggle"
drainage system, porous asphalt allows the water to go straight through the surface into an open sub-base storage system before being released in a controlled way. That could either be directly into the ground through a geomembrane at the bottom of the surface or released in a controlled way into ditches or swales.
Porousasphalt
Over the last few years, our local authority clients have started to look at permeable carriageways as an effective way to prevent flooding on streets that regularly flood. While three or four years ago, the reaction would be "let's build a flood wall or add flood gates", now local authorities are considering more innovative solutions.
Building resilience: the London Borough of Waltham Forest converted two roads that were susceptible to flooding to sustainable drainage schemes
One example is Waltham Forest in London, which has delivered several sustainable drainage schemes, two of which involved converting roads into a system of permeable paving, tanks and rain gardens.
The challenge with permeable carriageways is that they aren't appropriate for every type of traffic. As porous asphalt isn't as strong as traditional asphalt, it's not suitable for heavy goods vehicles.
However, there are ways around the problem by being clever with your design. For example, where there are parked vehicles on either side, the centre of the road could be strengthened to allow the water to run off at the porous sides.
Carbonreduction
One ofTarmac's key concerns at the moment is its carbon reduction strategies. As a significant emitter of carbon, we're spending a lot of time looking at alternative fuels to produce bitumen, as well as ways to use plantbased bitumen and aggregate. The other big issue is the transportation of the materials, so we're working on converting our trucks to electric, biofuel or hydrogen.
Our other big-ticket carbon item is the fact that asphalt is hot. To produce asphalt you need to heat up a lot of cold, wet aggregate, which requires a significant amount of hydrocarbons with a large carbon impact. So we're looking at ways to transition from Peter Hyde is highway burning natural gas to a liquid biofuel and services director of Tarmac eventually to hydrogen.
But there's no magic bullet. Road surfacing requires a long supply chain with a lot of production and construction stages, from the quarry all the way through to paving. Each stage has a carbon cost so we have to examine them all closely to see what the carbon reduction opportunities are, while making sure performance is maintained. There's no use building a low-carbon road that falls apart the first time it rains.
Wholelifecost
When it comes to road surfacing, it's all about whole-life costing. If you spend an extra £20,000 on a scheme that will last an extra 10 years, and you keep doing that, then eventually the maintenance bill will reduce and your network will be more resilient. Authorities shouldn't be spending vast amounts of money on reactive maintenance. All that does is put a sticking plaster on the problem. You need to be designing and replacing your road surface with the future in mind. If you have a road whose surface is completely shot, you should be sorting out the fundamental structural problem then putting a new surface on. That's cost-efficient. Putting a bit of asphalt in a pothole isn't.
As a number of local authorities in the UK declare climate emergencies, we ask two sustainability experts why these environmental commitments are being made
Laura Frost Associate director at Arup
- A CLIMATEEMERGENCY
- declaration is typically a crossparty political statement that recognises the urgency of the climate crisis and the commitment of a local authority to ensure that evidence of climate change and climate action sits at the heart of decision-making. For many local authorities, a climate emergency declaration is positioned alongside a broader declaration of an ecological emergency that recognises other environmental crises such as biodiversity loss.
A climate emergency declaration embeds climate change as a central consideration across an authority's strategy, plans, policymaking, programmes, operations and budgetary decisions. It publicly commits the authority to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with activities within the authority's direct control and, as far as possible, its influence. It drives better understanding of climate risks and pushes for action to mitigate risk and build resilience. It also provides a platform for engagement with communities, businesses, public bodies and other authorities from the local to national scale, helping to drive a more systemic response to climate change.
It's important that a declaration is quickly transitioned into action and doesn't get left on the shelf. It's valuable to start pulling together the evidence base on existing
"It's important that a declaration is quickly
transitioned into action and doesn't get left on the shelf"
emissions, hazard exposure and vulnerability, modelling future projections, establishing realistic targets and building a systemic climate action plan. However, this activity shouldn't get in the way of immediate action.
There are clear opportunities to make big impacts in every local authority area, whether that's around large-scale energy efficiency retrofits across council properties and social housing, stringent emissions targets and resilience requirements in local planning policy, or improved schemes for safe active travel and zero-emission public transport. There's enough evidence to demonstrate that these things make a difference and the imperative
should be to start acting as quickly as possible. Funding and finance are probably the greatest challenges for most authorities today. At Arup, we are increasingly seeing more innovative approaches to financing new solutions and new public and private funding sources to support action. But it's also worth remembering that not every climate action is 'new'. In many cases, the interventions needed to cut emissions or build resilience are just different ways of doing something that's been done for years.
For example, small changes to the scope of a council programme, amendments to procurement processes and supplier contracts, or updates to planning policies need not come as an additional cost to the authority but can have a significant impact. Likewise, piggybacking on existing initiatives such as regular maintenance and refurbishments of council-owned properties can be a low-cost way to introduce climate actions to an already-funded scheme.
{1
EMERGENCYSERVICE
Download Arup's guidance to declaring a climate emergency at bit.ly/Arup-Climate-Emergency
Barry Wyatt
Climate and nature emergency manager at South Gloucestershire Council
- SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE
T Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 but we now refer to it as a climate and nature emergency to reflect the details of the declaration and the dramatic decline in nature. As climate and nature emergency manager, 1 shape the programme with the aim of achieving a carbon-neutral council by 2030.
There are two aspects to my work: reducing or mitigating carbon emissions and adapting what we do to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Our journey started with baselining the emissions associated with our highways activity. We aim to develop business-as-usual systems that account for the carbon emissions from the
"We'reembedding an understandingof carbon emissions and the impact of highwaysat the core of the authority" supply of goods and services, from a tonne of tarmac delivered to a site to the fuel going into a strimmer.
But achieving that baseline hasn't been simple. It's involved a deep dive in terms of connecting budget spend with items and their emissions. Like most councils, we've focused on financial accounting systems, but are now moving towards collecting data that offers a nuanced understanding of our carbon profile. That's a significant resource we need to find and requires a change in traditional thinking.
A good example of carbon reduction is Greenprint, our
Live Labs project that moves from the cut-and-drop of verge-side grass to cut-and-collect. Rather than cutting our verges and leaving the grass, we're experimenting with cutting and collecting. This reduces the levels of nutrients in the verge, which reduces the speed of grass growth and ultimately results in having to cut it less frequently.
Using the collected arisings to go into anaerobic digestion also captures the emissions that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. That's innovative from a carbon reduction point of view, but since longer grass is able to retain more moisture, it also makes it more resistant to catching fire and increases its resilience to drought.
On the adaptation side, we have done a lot of work to increase our network's resilience to extreme heat and rainfall. That includes increasing drainage capacity and experimenting with natural flood management systems, which take water off the highway rather than let it rush into the nearest river. We are also currently monitoring particulate contamination that's flowing from our highways and designing lagoons that can intercept these particulates before impacting on the ecology of our rivers and streams.
The key message is that we're embedding an understanding of carbon emissions and the impact of highways on the environment at the core of the authority. We're constantly looking for opportunities to assess and reduce our emissions, and examine our impacts on the natural environment, then take every opportunity to reduce them all as part of our day-to-day business.
"Ourtransport network reallyneedsto be prioritised, especiallywhen it comesto maintenanceand renewals"
SaraZuin
Zuin tells Transportation Professional about the conclusions from the new CIHT report, 'Delivering a Resilient Transport Network', which calls for adaptation and resilience to be made an immediate investment and policy priority.
"It's important not only for keeping the transport network running," she explains, "but to make sure that the economy and society keeps running. It's a big message we're sending out with this."
OLD PROBLEMS, NEW SOLUTIONS
It's no secret that a lot of the UK's transport infrastructure is in urgent need of upgrading. In its new report, CIHTencourages the UK's legislative road authorities to make it a statutory requirement for all transport asset owners to carry out regular transport resilience assessments.
As temperatures rise, road surfaces will be at greater risk of damage from heatwaves. Meanwhile, wetter winters and rising rivers will increase scour, a major factor in the failure of bridges. Subsidence and landslips can also disrupt rail track alignment, leading to speed restrictions and travel disruption, as well as damage to highway surfaces, bridges and tunnels.
Swati Mittal, roads programme lead at Midlands Connect, contributed to CIHT's resilience report. She sees the impact that weather-related issues have in her region. "Nottinghamshire, for example, didn't have that much of an issue with flooding previously," she says, "But a lot of its bridges were flooded as a result of storms Babet, Gerrit and Henk last winter. The transport network is quite aged now. With even the slightest of change in
Intense periods of rainfall,heat and high winds can cause a range of problems,from flooding and subsidenceto fallen trees
environmental conditions, parts of it are likely to crumble."
Mittal points out that short-term fixes just aren't good enough and work needs to be done with future-proofing and resilience in mind. "Anything we plan or construct now, whether on the smaller or larger scale, should have this climatic adaptation built into it."
FROM REACTIVE TO PROACTIVE
The theme of future-proofing the transport system and improving its resilience is echoed in the CIHTreport, with an importance placed on being proactive.
"So far, responses to climate change have been more reactive, taking place in the wake of events we have already seen," says Zuin. "So we now have to think about planning for these events proactively. For example, where there were previously a lot of concerns surrounding snow and ice, the impacts are now in the realm of water and permeability."
According to Peter Cole, the head of decarbonisation for Transport for the North, technological advances are proving helpful on that front.
"We need to focus on adaptation investment", he says, "and one of our key adaptation tools is weather forecasting. Only a decade ago it was difficult to get an accurate picture beyond a couple of days, but now it's a couple of weeks.
"We needto makesurethat when we investinadaptation, we prioritisethe resilienceof the routes that are neededthe most"
Peter Cole
That allows us to say that we know this major weather event is coming so we're going to change our ways of working for this week.
"If you work in a hospital, you put provision in for more staff to be in place or in the emergency services, you make it known that we need to keep certain routes open. Preparedness is a big thing."
NEW DEVELOPMENTSAND RESEARCH
On that basis, more advanced materials available for upgrading transport infrastructure can help to ensure that networks have what it takes to withstand the extra pressures from climate change.
"One of the case studies we're working on is around waterproofing and permeable materials," says Zuin. "This results in assets being able to sustain intense flooding, corrosion and surface water."
Flooding is one of the most disruptive and damaging impacts of climate change
"The transport network is quite aged now.With even the slightestof changein environmentalconditions, parts ofit are likelyto crumble"
Swati Mittal
Again, there are challenges ahead since research and development can be time-consuming and innovative methods or materials don't always find their way into the hands of local authorities -the organisations on the front line of network maintenance. In some cases, cash-strapped councils can't afford to pay the private companies that have developed the new tech.
There are also complications in assessing the key problem areas. "Abig challenge is around data availability on the condition of the assets," says Zuin. "Smaller local authorities in rural areas might not always have up-to-date information."
INVESTMENT WHERE IT'S NEEDED
Cole believes that, given the budgetary restraints that the government and local authorities are working under, in some instances it may be a case of picking your battles.
"Youonly have a limited pot of money," he explains. "So how do you decide where you spend it? We need to make sure that when we invest in adaptation, we prioritise the resilience of the routes that are needed the most. There are some people who need to travel, perhaps because they're carers or they have care needs, because they're key workers or on low incomes and can't afford to be flexible with travel. On the other hand, there may be areas where we can accept a certain level of disruption without 1'.ltoo much harm being done."
TACKLING THE PROBLEM
However, there's no getting around the fact that investment in the transport network § is imperative to put resilience planning into action. This will require a change in Q mindset, where politicians at both national
"Our members haveshownthat they are on the topic. They want to know more, engage more andtrain themselves in resilienceand riskassessments"
SaraZuin
and local levels focus less on action triggered by events that have already taken place and more on policies that will reduce the likelihood of future climate-related events having a large impact on the transport network.
"There seems to be a need for a nationallevel policy intervention where government makes a few things mandatory," explains Mittal. "That intervention could identify key resilience factors when assessing business cases or assign some to new infrastructure that can increase resilience."
Teamwork in the industry is also imperative. The CIHTreport highlights the dangers of different operators and asset owners developing their own internal assessments based on different assumptions, leading to non-transferable or non-shareable data. Any new policies
will require those on the ground to change their focus.
On a more optimistic note, Zuin finds the attitude of CIHT members encouraging. "Our members have shown that they're on the topic", she says. "They want to know more, engage more and train themselves in resilience and risk assessments. As an industry, we might be a bit late, but if we start doing things now, we can have a good shot at being better prepared for the future." "i'CIHT
CHECKSAND BALANCES
Discover the initiatives that empower women in the transport sector
WORDS/ HANNAH WINSTANLEY
ecently, I've been reflecting on the role of affinity bias in shaping my career and the connections I'm building in the industry. A few years ago, while preparing a guest list for the CIHT Annual Luncheon, I realised that all my invitees were women. It wasn't deliberate, but it highlighted an unconscious preference for those whose experiences mirrored my own.
BUILDING THE BRIDGE
Affinity bias is a natural tendency to gravitate toward people with similar traits, experiences or backgrounds. It's common in professional networking. Women often form smaller, more personal networks driven by shared experiences and emotional connections, while men are more likely to expand their networks in a strategic way to progress their careers.
While neither approach is better, women's networks can sometimes lack the breadth needed to unlock certain opportunities. Recognising this, I've sought to create initiatives that empower women in the transport sector, enabling them to overcome barriers and engage with those who don't mirror their own traits in important conversations.
NEW INITIATIVES
One of those initiatives is the FLARE Group, a virtual platform for women working within highways departments in local government. It's a space where women can openly discuss challenges, share advice and learn from one another.
Another is the CIHT Women's Table, an idea I introduced three years ago. This initiative provides an opportunity for women who wouldn't usually get an opportunity to attend the traditionally male-dominated industry luncheon,
"Women often form smaller, more personal networks driven by shared experiences and emotional connections"
allowing them to connect with senior leaders, gain visibility and broaden their professional networks.
Meanwhile, Brightly Women's Day events serve as a platform for women in the transport sector to meet in person, exchange ideas and form lasting professional relationships.
FUTURE-FACING
These initiatives aren't about excluding men -on the contrary, my male colleagues at Brightly have shown tremendous support. They recognise the importance of fostering a more inclusive and balanced industry. These efforts aim to ensure that women feel seen, heard and confident in spaces where decisions are made and futures shaped. However, the journey toward inclusivity isn't without its challenges. Women often
face external pressures such as family responsibilities, which limit their ability to network in the ways that men traditionally do. Additionally, settings such as informal discussions over drinks can unintentionally exclude women or make them feel less welcome. By tackling these barriers head on and creating environments where women feel comfortable and supported, we can drive meaningful progress.
The transportation sector thrives on innovation and diverse perspectives. By empowering women to contribute fully, we can build a stronger, more inclusive future for the industry.
Hannah Winstanley is general manager at Brightly Software
AWOMAN FORAILL SEASONS
WORDS / JOHN CHALLEN
C... AROLVALENTINE
entered the highways industry around 15 years ago -initially in an operational capacity but quickly moving on to managing a team tasked with repairing and fixing potholes, looking after signs and lines, and dealing with enforcement issues. Today,she is chair of the National Winter Service Research Group (NWSRG),as well as head of business services, highways and transportation at Kent County Council (KCC). Previously, Valentine held the role of highway manager at KCC,where she recalls getting a pile of folders and being told she would be in charge of winter service.
Climate change, advances in technology and
the need to keep people moving in the winter are all part of the job
for Carol Valentine, Kent County Council's head of business services, highways and transportation
True grit: Carol Valentine has more than 15 years of experience in the highways industry and specialisesin winter service
"We haveto changeour view of what winter is,which means stillbeingpreparedfor snowand ice, but alsoadding inotherweatherevents"
"Fortunately, one of the guys who looked after winter service before me hadn't fully retired," she recalls, "so there was a bit of a handover where I was able to get an understanding of the task at hand."
Kent is a large county with 58 primary routes and 60 gritters. Not long after Valentine began the role, she was thrown in at the deep end once again when faced with a "baptism of snow" - the Beast from the East. "Alot of snow came in, which really tested our resilience," she remembers. "In some areas we were ready, but like many other authorities at the time, we were found wanting in others. The main lessons we learned were around resilience and resources, such as making sure you have enough salt in stock. We are based in the south-east comer of Kent, but our salt comes from the north. We never ran out of salt during that period, but we did have to mix some of it with some sand to make it go a bit further."
The other lesson Valentine and her team learned at the time was the benefit of working with their neighbours. "We worked very closely with Highways England [now National Highways] on our borders to share resources when we needed them," she explains. "While we try to plan for the worst-case scenario, if you have those arrangements in place beforehand, it really helps when you get the unexpected."
CLIMATE CONUNDRUMS
Recently, the biggest challenge for winter service teams is climate change and the impact its effects have on road networks. Fortunately, it's something that local authorities have been preparing for.
"We've learned over the years to be prepared for snow and ice, and have done a lot of work in that area," Valentine says. "But as the climate is changing, we're getting more rain and milder winters. We have to
change our view of what winter is, which means being prepared for snow and ice, but also adding in other weather events. Last winter, we had eight named storms, which brought lots of rain. How we adjust and respond to these weather conditions is now a challenge for us during winter."
The gritter fleet is always prepared for the onset of snow and ice, but rain brings its own challenges for KCC."We have to look at what else we need in our armoury when winter arrives," explains Valentine. "Last year, all the storms resulted in road surface degradation and a massive increase in potholes. As well as preventative measures, we also need to look at increasing drainage budgets and investing in proper drainage. Here in Kent, we've been trialling gully sensors to see ifwe can pre-empt some of the flood issues that are happening."
YEAR-ROUND JOB
Within KCC,winter typically starts around the third week of October and runs until the third week of April, with the core winter period between December and February. Outside that period, there's a lot to do, such as calibrating gritters, making sure there's enough salt and planning for severe weather events.
"When I was winter service manager, every year I would make an improvement
Pile driver: Valentine knows the value of year-round planning and seeks to make annual improvements to winter service
Carol Valentine's four favourite things about winter
I'm not a huge fan ofwinter1don't do any winter sports, for example -but I do like being cosy and love winter clothes, such as roll necks and boots. I'll take any opportunity to add to my winter wardrobe to dress for the weather.
As a team, we get excited to see all of our plans coming into place as the temperatures fall. It's all hands on deck, everyone out working together, and we get to see the fruits of our labour throughout the year. It's a very satisfying time for everyone involved in winter services.
I love going for a nice walk in the snow. One of the best feelings is to look outside when snow has fallen and no one has walked on the fresh snow apart from some foxes. I used to love watching the kids making snowmen in the gardenthey are great memories for me.
When it's really cold outside, you can't beat settling down in front of a roaring fire, either at someone's house or at a pubpreferably with a good glass of wine on the go and some nice food to go with it.
to the service," says Valentine. "It could be anything from a small adjustment to the plan to a big innovative piece of technology. One example was when we optimised our winter routes based on the weather conditions. We had seven weather stations around the around the county and the readings from those would be taken by our weather forecast provider and amalgamated with other data to produce a road weather forecast by different domains. That was how we determined whether to grit the roads or not.
"However, some of the routes went through more than one domain, meaning that if it was only cold in the first domain, you had to grit the entire route," she continues. "That just wasn't efficient so I was keen to better define the routes to get greater visibility of what was happening across the network."
The answer was to deploy around 120 small road surface temperature sensors that worked with weather station data and machine learning to provide more accurate information.
More recently, KCChas trialled a liquid salt solution for precautionary salting. "It worked," says Valentine, "but you would have to change your entire fleet to make a difference, as well as have somewhere to store the liquid. That's not to say we won't do that at some point in the future, but it was done more as a proof of concept."
DATA-DRIVENSOLUTIONS
Looking ahead, technology will play a big part in winter preparation and resilience on the highways and road networks. "Sensors, artificial intelligence and vehicle data will really make a difference to how we deliver
our service," says Valentine. "Cars can tell us what the air temperature is, but there will be technology that could also tell us what the road surface temperature is. Over time, we want to harness that data to get a better view of what's really happening on our network. I can see what's happening at different spots across the county, but cars that are driving around every single part of the county could give us much more granular data.
"If we can take some of that data, model it and use machine learning with some good data analytics, then we can start to get much better information," she continues. "We would have to look over a few years-worth of data to see how are things are really changing and the effect climate change will have on winter surface temperature, but there are lots of exciting opportunities."
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DEBATE
The latest CIHT/Winvic Construction roundtable delivered a fascinating discussion on public sector collaboration to decarbonise transport infrastructure
WORDS / ANNA SCOTT IMAGES / WILL AMLOT
N 'IMPACTFULMULTI-HAZARDSTORM'
is how the Met Office described Storm Bert, which ravaged parts of the UK in November 2024. More than 175mm of rain fell in a 24-hour period in Devon and 82mph winds were recorded in Wales, while landslides and flooding caused widespread travel disruption and infrastructure damage. These 'high-intensity rainfall events' will only become more common as the atmosphere warms because of climate change.
A few days later, 11experts from local authorities, construction and civil engineering companies, and sustainability and development organisations are gathered for a discussion at CIHT headquarters in London for the latest CIHT/Winvic Construction roundtable. On the agenda is collaborative strategies for public sector success in decarbonising infrastructure and how to cultivate transport systems that are resilient to the impacts of climate change.
COMPETINGCHALLENGES
"It's always timely to be talking about decarbonisation," says Andrew Crudgington, CIHT climate change associate and chair of the roundtable as he opens the discussion. "We need very deep reductions in carbon very quickly."
The challenges for local authorities are vast. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's transport infrastructure is often at risk of flooding from the Fenland. Improving transport connectivity in a largely rural location with two major urban hubs, where 40% of emissions come from freight journeys, are key issues in this area.
"There's a balance between decarbonising and providing people with social equity," says Tim Bellamy, assistant director -transport at Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority. "We need to make sure we look at the totality of carbon."
AN URGENTISSUE
The public sector is often slower than its private counterpart to undertake decarbonisation projects. "In the last three years, we have delivered 66 net-zero assets for private developers," says Arun Thaneja, technical services and sustainability director at Winvic.
But the appetite and knowledge are there. "There's an urgency about sustainability," says Justin Fitzgerald, business development manager - civils and infrastructure at Winvic.
Different public sector clients have different design partners, ambitions and targets. "One of our challenges comes when we have tried something in one place, we
know that it works and have years of data to prove it, but then new clients want to try it again," says Ed Godsiffe, director of sustainability at Milestone Infrastructure. "In civil engineering and infrastructure, each project is unique, unless it's part of a long-term framework."
Funding is an ongoing challenge, so the ability to access accurate data is crucial. "Local authorities want assurance that a material is going to perform, how many interventions are needed over time and what that's going to cost," says Samantha Schofield, head of environment and sustainability at Amey.
winvic
DATADATAEVERYWHERE
But having the right data for a project can also be an issue. "The data is there," says Thaneja. "It's just not presented in the right format to make cradle-to-grave carbon assessments. So you have to go back to first principles of how a product is extracted or manufactured and delivered or installed on site."
Even if civil engineering and infrastructure contractors have good sets of data, local authorities don't necessarily have access to it. James Golding-Graham, head of decarbonisation and innovation at England's Economic Heartland, recommends contractors apply a digital twin to understand the total impact of any interventions they use.
"Formalise the reporting mechanisms, monitoring evaluations and performance of the intervention," he says. "Digitise and socialise that across the wider industry so we collectively know how to do things better."
Research is already underway on how to improve data. "Yousee amazing stuff being done in isolated pockets," says Kim Yates,UK and Europe sustainability lead at Mott MacDonald. But while data isn't perfect, she urges organisations to "start with one tool, use that as your baseline and just keep collecting data. Don't get hung up on the tools."
There's also a challenge with standards for products, which may be proven to be low carbon but take a long time to come into widespread use, such as warm asphalt -something that's been around for decades but is now considered 'new'.
"There's been a huge change over the last 30 years, but there's more we can do," says Scott Martin, contracts director at Winvic. "The biggest thing I see at the moment is changing specifications."
Rob Cook, managing director for civils and infrastructure at Winvic, adds: "We're still doing things in concrete and steel, but we could look at basalt rebar in the future. There's a lot of information we can use -the data, technology, techniques and innovation are all out there."
Cook highlights Octavius's work at Long Stratton Bypass in Norfolk in using a soil-stabilised sub-formation instead of a traditional sub-base with an inefficient material. "That's a massive jump for a local authority to reuse soil to stabilise."
COMMUNICATION AND CONNECTION
Civil engineering and infrastructure can also look at other industries for inspiration. Neave Thompson, senior sustainability manager at Winvic, points to the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard launched in 2024.
"How can we collaborate to achieve a standard approach
to Whole Life Cycle Assessments for civils and infrastructure, ensuring the delivery of net zero schemes?" she asks. "While PAS2080 provides a solid foundation for managing carbon infrastructure, there is a need to go further."
Joining the dots between new materials, data and design is also crucial. "It's about coming up with a solution for a particular contract in one place and connecting the opportunities with local authorities and National Highways -the whole network," says Schofield.
She points to Arney's materials recycling facility in Staffordshire, which encompasses designers, an in-house lab and delivery partners. "It's a really good approach for maximising opportunities," she says.
"You seeamazing stuff being done in isolated pockets. But the consistency isn't necessarily there"
KimYates,UKand Europesustainability lead at Mott MacDonald
"We're still doing things in concrete and steel. We could look at basalt rebar in the future"
Rob Cook, managing director for civils and infrastructure at Winvic
Community champions:(below)
"In civil engineering and infrastructure, each project is unique"
EdGodsiffe, director of sustainability at Milestone Infrastructure
"We're looking at how to ensure a 1ust transition' to the net zero economy and how we can share best practice across the industry"
Heidi Salmons, head of marketing, communications and social responsibility at Winvic
"There's been a huge change over the last 30 years, but there's more we can do - the biggest thing is changing specifications"
Scott Martin, contractsdirectorat Winvic
and
Local authorities should also develop an in-depth understanding of the requirements of the PAS2080 carbon management standard. "They might not always have the resources and capability to actively manage a PAS2080 approach," says Godsiffe. "But if they understand what they should be getting out of it through their designers and contractors, they can make better informed decisions."
Ultimately, long-term frameworks with long-term ambitions between public sector clients and contractors, designers and the supply chain can really drive change. And progress is being made.
ONE COMMUNITY
"Alot oflocal authorities are already asking for more data and taking more surveys," says Cook. "The ball is moving but we need to think of ourselves as a single community rather than a set of contracts between designers, contractors and local authorities. That way we can make a big impact."
It's clear that the knowledge, skills and ambitions to reach net zero stretch across local authorities, designers, contractors, suppliers and other public and private sector organisations. What's needed is communication and collaboration, not only to reduce the frequency of storms but to ensure our highways increase their resilience.
"Some public sector clients and authorities are very knowledgeable and there's an urgency about sustainability"
Justin Fitzgerald, business development manager-civils and infrastructure at Winvic
"How can we collaborate to achieve a standard approach to Whole Life Cycle Assessmentsfor civils and infrastructure?"
Start gathering your best work to get the recognition you deserve
WORDS/BRUCECONNAL
T- HE CIHT AWARDSIS AN
annual global competition that celebrates the highways and transport industry's most innovative work by giving it the international recognition it deserves. These prestigious awards showcase your organisation's most innovative projects and the incredible benefits your work and the highways and transportation sector bring to society.
While your role is to produce fantastic work, ours is to celebrate best practice, promote your professionalism and give it a global stage. After a recordbreaking year in 2024, we're looking to be even bigger and better in 2025. With a 75%growth in entries since 2019, it's clear that the sector recognises the importance of entering the CIHT Awards and the unique value it offers to every individual who and organisation that enters.
TWO NEW AWARDS
Multiple factors have accelerated the growth of the CIHTAwards. Firstly, we work hard to listen to the sector and our members.
As a result, we ensure that our award categories remain relevant to the industry and highlight the great work happening in the sector to prospective clients and stakeholders.
For 2025, we have introduced two new awards: Product of the Year celebrates new products and materials that have made a positive impact on the highways and transportation sector, while
"With a 75% growth in entries since 2019, it's clear that the sector recognises the importance of entering the CIHT Awards"
Health and Safety in the Workplace recognises initiatives that improve safety practices and culture at work.
PROJECT PROMOTION
There is widespread recognition that CIHT has a genuine desire to celebrate the great work in the sector and the many ways it benefits the public. We make our awards stand out from the competition by enhancing the value of entering and having a rigorous judging process. There are no obstacles to entering - entry is free and you don't have to be a CIHTmember to enter or work
for a CIHT partner organisation. We want to promote your work to tens of thousands of professionals in our network, including the sector's key budget holders and decision-makers.
Every entry is read, not only by the judges but by members of the CIHTeditorial, policy and events teams, with each shortlisted entry read by a member of the senior management team.
In addition, all entrants are considered for future thought leadership, events, roundtable discussions, whitepapers and other incredible PR opportunities for the next 12 months and beyond.
ENTER TODAY
Submit your entries to the 2025 CIHT Awards at ciht.org.uk/awards
BUSINESS BENEFITS
The CIHT Awards offers an ideal opportunity for organisations to enhance their brand reputation and gain new business as they are seen as a genuine mark of quality that help to attract potential clients, strategic transport bodies and investors. We have ensured that the structure of the categories gives the organisation a platform to tell their story and position themselves as leaders in the sector, which makes being shortlisted a fantastic accomplishment.
• Entries open for the 2025 CIHT Awards on Monday 6 January 2025, with a final deadline of Friday 28 February 2025
Bruce Connal is marketing and communications manager at CIHT
CIHT AWARDS CATEGORIES
1 Infrastructure 7 Creating Better Places Exceptional engineering Outstanding design and solutions that have implementation of delivered creative and schemes in towns, cities innovative transport and rural areas that infrastructure. significantly improve
2 Research places for people and the environment. Outstanding research
8Resilience in the highways and transportation sector Projects, schemes and that improves the industry strategies in the highways by addressing a specific and transportation sector problem. that have contributed to making infrastructure
3 Technology and more resilient to extreme Digital Transformation weather events and Technological innovations climate change. such as new technology,
9 Sustainability products, processes and digital services that have Projects, schemes, had positive impacts on products or strategies an organisation, industry delivered or developed and society. by the highways and
4 Road Safety transportation sector that demonstrate a clear Outstanding contribution to sustainable achievements that development. improve the safety of road
10 Decarbonisation users through excellent practice, design and Projects, schemes, technical application. products and strategies that demonstrate the
5 Health and Safety in delivery of a significant the Workplace reduction of greenhouse Initiatives that have made gas emissions and carbon a significant contribution footprint. to tackling the dangers
11 Product of the Year personnel face while working in the highways New products and and transportation sector. materials that have made a positive impact to 6 Equality, Diversity the highways and and Inclusion (EDI) transportation sector Organisations or through innovation, individuals that have been sustainability and involved in an EDI initiative decarbonisation. of merit which has made a positive contribution to the organisation, industry and society.
12 BCoE Bus Initiative oftheYear
Outstanding initiatives in the field of bus transportation that have made a significant positive impact in England, from the implementation of technology and strategic planning to community engagement.
13 TeamoftheYear Teams that have demonstrated professionalism and been able to adapt and work effectively under the challenges posed in the highways and transportation sector.
14 Collaboration
Effective relationships with organisations or sectors that deliver real solutions by adding value to a project's outcomes while enhancing relationships and engagement.
15 Transportation Professional of the Year Individuals in the sector who have shown professionalism and leadership in their work, demonstrating how they maintain and develop professional ethical expertise and deliver effective service for all.
16 BCoE Bus Person oftheYear
Exceptional contributions by individuals within the bus transportation sector who demonstrate influence, innovation, community engagement and professionalism.
CHARTING PROGRESS
Discover the benefits of the University of Birmingham's Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment map for transport authorities
WORDS / DR SARAH GREENHAM AND NICK CORK
.JL CO-DEVELOPEDBY
- researchers at the University of Birmingham with partner authorities, the Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) map combines multiple spatial datasets to understand the extent of climate risk and the vulnerability of communities and the built environment across a region. Its results offer valuable information to support strategic decisions on planning and insight into the effects of climate change on a region.
The initial development of CRVA mapping stemmed from a large regional air quality research project focused on the West Midlands (WM-Air). The findings from this research builds on previous studies in Birmingham, such as mapping the urban heat island, overheating risk, and environmental justice to create a method of mapping climate risk and vulnerability for the city. With the support of the West Midlands Combined
Authority (WMCA)and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM),the CRVAmapping approach was revised and extended from Birmingham to the broader West Midlands region and featured transport-focused CRVAmaps.
Risk mapping for transport
The CRVAtransport map scores areas of the West Midlands region based on the presence of six different climate-related hazards: topographical exposure, high surface temperature, landslips, windthrow and tree proximity, and flood risk. These hazards result in a variety of transport challenges such as delays and disruption, increased maintenance and repair costs, injury to transport users and staff, and unsafe infrastructure. All map layers were standardised to a 100-metre grid resolution for analysis.
Wind damage is influenced by topography, so one of the map layers is topographical exposure, showing
Birmingham CRVA map
Actual CRVA scores: 100m raster grid
Average CRVA score by LSOA
how much of the horizon you can see from any particular point. If you are in a very exposed area, there is greater risk of damage due to storms and high winds.
High surface temperatures can also cause major disruption on transport networks, and are greater in heavily built-up areas, such as city centres, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. Data for this layer comes from Landsat imagery, which we used as a proxy for the urban heat island effect.
The landslip layer combines a wide range of factors such as embankment slopes, tree canopy cover, proximity to water sources, and the material embankments are composed of. Some railway embankments are over a century old and not designed to modem standards, which increases the risk of landslip. But the presence of trees and other vegetation can lower that risk since roots can help to bind an embankment together.
Trees have many benefits such as
':A.daptingto
climate change should be treated as an iterative process, and this tool is a key part of monitoring and evaluating adaptation progress"
Average CRVA score by Ward
Total transport CRVA
Can be aggregated from 100m resolution to key administrative boundaries
providing a source of natural flood management and cooling the surroundings. When well placed, they can also disperse pollution and separate people from its exposure. However, trees located close to transport infrastructure can lead to operational challenges such as leaves falling onto railway lines, as well as damage or blockages from fallen trees due to high winds. Drought stress and tree-related diseases such as ash dieback and acute oak decline can cause similar issues and are also exacerbated by climate change, so we also mapped tree proximity and windthrow as a hazard layer.
Focuson floods
Then there are the different types of flood risk. We have used publicly available flood maps for fluvial (river) and pluvial (surface water) flooding, and looked at which regions and transport networks can be affected by high flood levels, anticipating that one-in-30-year and one-in-100-year floods are likely to occur more often in a warming climate.
All these hazards are brought together with mapped data of transport routes and assets, which were scored in terms of their vulnerability and criticality to climate change across West Midlands. Combining all this
information resulted in maps summarising the overall climate risk and vulnerability of the transport network across the region.
Discussionpoints
The maps include data on several types of transport infrastructure, from motorways to cycle paths. Expert judgement was sought from the TfWM Transport Adaptation Working Group to give each type of transport infrastructure a score in terms of how vulnerable it is to the six hazards. As the results are at 100 metres, it's easy to worn in on specific areas of the West Midlands. This level of detail provides transport owners and operators with information that can support key decision making for climate adaptation.
The map also provides a centralised focus for discussions within local authorities and external stakeholders about areas of concern, which could include the cascading impact of an extreme weather event across different networks. For instance, the WMCAcould identify an area as having a high risk of flooding on the rail network and the adjacent land, and engage with Network Rail about any strategies they may have in place to address this. It's a good way to bring together organisations that may work in a siloed way.
Adapting to climate change should be treated as an iterative process, and this tool is a key part of monitoring and evaluating adaptation progress, which ultimately increases the resilience of transport systems to climate change with each cycle.
By prioritising open data and handing the process over to transport owners and operators to update, the CRVAcan help support a challenging part of this essential process, particularly for local and regional authorities.
Global potential
There is also the potential to replicate the mapping approach for other regions and countries. Of course, this will depend on having the right data, as different places have different risks and hazards. However, many climate-changerelated risks such as heat and flooding may be similar, but with varying levels of intensity. Wherever you are, the principles of the map can still apply. The method of weighting in terms of how strategically important things are is completely flexible to fit the organisational structure or the transport network being analysed. There has been a lot of interest in CRVAmapping, and we are always open to talking to other authorities and organisations about the methodology and applying it to new areas.
TfWM are now working to transfer the maps into an accessible format and to ground truth it with regional partners before making them openly available. Watch out for updates from TfWM on the publication of these maps, which will be expected in 2025.
GOFURTHER
(]
For more on the Birmingham CRVA work, go to bit.ly/UOB-CRVA-Paper
Dr Sarah Greenham is an Impact Fellow and Nick Cork is a PhD Researcher, both at the University of Birmingham
PREDICTING THE WEATHER
Discover how the Met Office creates detailed weather forecasts that help transport authorities keep their networks running
WORDS / GREG WOLVERSON
- AS AN ORGANISATION,THE
- Met Office is in contact with the transport authorities every single day. We have embedded advisors within National Highways and Transport Scotland to aid coordination and decision mal<ing, while our Opensite service provides detailed forecast information at individual road level for anyone working in road operations, such as gritting teams. A group of meteorologists support that service to add extra detail and answer any questions and concerns the transport operators may have.
One of the questions I get asked the most is: 'How far in advance do you know about severe weather?'.
The simple answer is: 'It depends'.
We have forecasts that look at the next three hours alongside forecasts on a daily and weekly scale.
We also provide seasonal briefings that give organisations an idea of what to expect from an upcoming season. At the end of the scale, we offer support with climate change and adaptation.
Since 2011,we have been providing companies and organisations with impact-based severe weather warnings. These look at the forecasts and consider what's likely to happen with an associated confidence level. Every warning we issue has a risk matrix that considers the expected level of impact and the confidence around that prediction.
For example, the 2018 Beast from the East was a high-confidence event. We knew that cold air was
coming from the east and there would be a lot of snow with that. So we issued a warning days in advance. But when the temperature is hovering around zero, it's uncertain whether certain locations will get snow or rain, so we can only issue warnings a few hours in advance. We always aim to give as much lead time as we can.
BUILDING THE FORECAST
Creating a detailed weather forecast involves a lot of technology and observations. The Met Office is constantly monitoring weather patterns around the world and takes snapshots of conditions, which then get fed into our supercomputer. This performs a series of complex physics equations to run the conditions forward to build a forecast.
Seasonal forecasting is different. This looks at a number of phenomena that impact weather on a seasonal scale. These include large-scale drivers such as El Nifto, stratospheric warming and jet stream positions. Some seasons it's clear there are a lot of drivers coming together, which can give an indication of a cold or warm season. This year, however, it's looking quite neutral.
What the transport sector is most interested in are the extremes
"What the transport sector is most interested in are the extremes within the average"
within the average. For example, last winter was milder than average, but within that there were clear, cold periods that ended up having a large impact. We aim to understand the long-term average expectations for a season, while understanding the risk of extremes.
CLIMATECHANGE IMPACTS
As well as short-and long-term forecasting, the Met Office is home to some of the world's foremost climate scientists. The Met Office Hadley Centre monitors and examines past and current climate conditions, and our world-leading scientists are at the forefront of climate attribution science.
Greg Wolverson is a civil contingencies adviser at the Met Office and a chartered meteorologist
Our scientists help to explain how our changing climate influences extreme weather events, making key contributions to scientific literature and feeding their data into the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
With improved computing power, we can offer climate projections at a much higher resolution and more local level. Overall, we're experiencing a shift to warmer and drier summers, and a significant change in rainfall.
In summer, the rainfall is shorter and more intense, which is hard to plan for. Winters are also becoming increasingly warmer and wetter, which bring their own challenges, but you will still get extreme gperiods of cold.
We work closely with the stransport sector to understand :c how extreme weather can result in > increased sea level heights, which can bring impacts on coastlines as well as the bridges and rail network
that are right on the coast. As we provide more detailed projections, authorities will look at their vulnerabilities and plan accordingly.
In the last two years, we have also started to issue national severe weather warnings for extreme heat.
One of the main warnings is for heat stress on the rail network and buckling of rail infrastructure. On the highways network, extreme heat is also causing a lot of previously unseen impacts on road surfaces and infrastructure.
FUTUREOF FORECASTING
The technology of weather forecasting is changing all the time. One of the main changes we're seeing is ensemble forecasting. Rather than taking a single forecast, we can run a suite of forecasts for the same location, with slightly different conditions for each. This delivers a range of forecasts that provides a much better understanding of risk and
confidence. So if90% of your models are converging on one outcome, it improves the confidence level of your forecast.
The other key technology is AI, which can be incredibly powerful in producing forecasts. Al can produce huge, powerful outputs in a fraction of the time at a fraction of the cost using a fraction of the computing power. One of its key characteristics is that it's very good at analysing past events and will give you the most likely outcome based on what it's seen.
But we're in a learning period when it comes to the impacts of climate change and we're learning a lot from the transport sector about how they are responding. It's a two-way process.
FORENSICFORECASTS
(] Discover how the Met Office works with transport at metoffice. gov.uk/services/transport
- THE UK IS RELATIVELY
- unique in that it has a legal duty to treat its roads. So there's always been a culture of preventative maintenance in the country -get the chemical down before the ice or snow is due to hit, which makes it easy to plan. To do that, you need hyperlocal forecasts and observation data from across your road network, which is where companies such as Vaisala come in.
Our customers will receive a general forecast, as well as a road surface weather forecast created for their road network. As well as the air temperature and dew point, the road forecast will state the temperature of a road and whether there will be snow, ice or other weather-related conditions. You can also get a forecast to see how much grip there will be between
the vehicle and the road -the more ice there is, the less grip there's going to be.
Get a grip
To produce these forecasts, you need to monitor the roads, and there are a number of different types of monitoring system.
Road weather stations have been available for several decades and measure temperature, wind speed, precipitation and visibility, as well as road surface temperature and conditions. Recent advances in technology have led to the availability of local road sensors, which give highly accurate road temperature readings and conditions. These are either embedded in the road or placed above it, and are increasingly connected, creating an Internet
of Things (IoT) network, which opens up the opportunity for customers to get a wider range of observations across their network. There are also mobile sensors equipped for vehicles that provide highly accurate road temperature and condition readings, placed in trucks and vehicles owned by highways authorities responsible for maintaining the roads. There are also emerging technologies that connect to vehicle data. Most modern vehicles now produce a lot of data, such as air temperature and driving behaviour, which vehicle manufacturers allow us to use. From that, we can work
out the amount of grip on the road network by looking at how the car drives. All manufacturers now monitor this so there's a lot of additional data now available for the winter service decision maker.
Big picture predictions
Weather stations on a road network provide highly accurate and reliable data. However, they only give a small snapshot of a network. Of course, the bigger the organisation, the more weather stations they have; however, there's a limit on how many they can maintain.
But now there are a number of additional observation points they can use, so they are starting to get the bigger picture by using a larger sample across their network, either through IoT sensors, mobile sensors or a combination of both. They are
looking at how they can use that data to help them make targeted decisions to ensure that in hazardous weather events, they can target the treatments where they are needed the most.
Traditionally, the process of winter surface treatment was one-out, all-out. An authority would treat all of its network or it wouldn't. But now there's a move to increase the resolution of that decision, and on some nights where the conditions will vary across a network, they will only treat certain regions, domains or routes.
ICE INSIGHT
(]
For more information on winter road monitoring, go to bit.ly/ vaisala-winter-maintenance
"The UK has a marginal climate, which is why it has one of the highest densities of weather stations in the world"
Focused forecasts
A climatic domain is an area where you expect to see the same weather. High ground might be a domain; a coastal region might be another. It's not an exact science because weather doesn't have physical boundaries. But while some authorities treat on a domain level, some work on a route-by-route level. For both, you need to have the observation and forecasting data to make truly informed decisions about treatment.
The winter service industry is moving towards more targeted information, with new data sources augmenting traditional weather station data. It means decision makers can concentrate on specific areas, saving time and resources.
There's a change in management process for decision-making, with more authorities utilising the additional data available and gaining the confidence to make those targeted decisions.
Service shift
We're seeing a few changes to the treatment of roads as a consequence of climate change. Traditionally, authorities viewed 1 October as the start of winter, when they would switch their systems to winter maintenance. But that date is shifting towards the middle of October, with some even starting to talk about 1 November to save costs.
From a global perspective, we're seeing areas that previously were very cold all through the winter becoming more marginal. The UK has a very marginal climate, which is why it has one of the highest densities of weather stations in the world. It means that making decisions needs in-depth knowledge of current and future weather conditions, and variations across the whole of a network.
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THE VIEW FROM HERE
ISLAND LIFE
Adaptation to climate change, sustainable travel and a 40th anniversary are all on the agenda for CIHT Hong Kong
WORDS/ RAYMOND PAU
- FORMED IN 1985, CIHT - Hong Kong is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary. As part of those celebrations, the organisation is sending 20 of its members on a five-day delegation to Dubai to visit the city's transport and government facilities, as well as hosting a cocktail reception in Hong Kong for the region's senior figures in transportation. Those senior figures will include government executives from the Executive Council of Hong Kong, as well as top professionals in highways and transportationall people who regularly engage with the organisation to seek advice and support on the latest policies and strategies.
FLOOD RISK
Hong Kong's transport system is centred on rail and bus travel, with more than 70% of its commuters travelling by rail. However, the rail and road network is at risk of flooding. Since Hong Kong is hilly and its drainage system is almost at capacity, a sudden downpour can very quickly result in flooding. Recently, we had sudden intense rainfall from Typhoon Haikui that
Raymond Pau is chair ofCIHT Hong Kong and executive director of AECOM Asia
"Hong Kong needs to upgrade its infrastructure to cope with the increasing amount of rain"
lasted for several hours, similar to what happened in Valencia in Spain. A lot of railway stations on the Mass Transit Railway network were flooded, along with many roads, bringing the city to a standstill. The drainage system isn't built for that level of water. However, there are several government projects that have built resilience into the system, such as the underground reservoir in Happy Valley at the heart of Hong Kong Island. When there's sudden rainfall, it acts as a buffer between the land and the main drainage system, storing the water then slowly releasing it.
SEASONAL SHIFT
The Hong Kong government is also looking at ways to increase the amount of sustainable travel. There are a number of initiatives such as the One-for-One Replacement Scheme to encourage people to
System block:Heavy, intense rainfallcan cause parts of Hong Kong'srailway network to flood
swap their diesel vehicles to electric vehicles, with a generous subsidy on road tax as well as free charging in certain locations.
However, e-bikes and e-scooters are illegal. The government is investigating how to change the current legislation, but not as quickly as other countries around the world.
Overall, Hong Kong needs to upgrade its infrastructure to cope with the increasing amount of rain it receives. Traditionally, typhoon season used to be in August and September, but we're now experiencing them in November, which is supposed to be Hong Kong's dry season.
Of course, it will take time to get all the right infrastructure in place, but we need to start now because the climate situation isn't going to improve anytime soon.
GO FURTHER
(] For more information about CIHT Hong Kong, goto bit.ly/CIHT-Hong-Kong
DISASTER AWARENESS
Jon Munslowdelivers the findingsof PIARC's globalstudyon Rapid ImpactAssessment
WORDS/ JUSTIN WARD
- AS PROJECTLEADON
- PIARC'sRapid Impact Assessment (RIA)for Geohazard Management on Road Networks study, Jon Munslow understands the impact of severe weather on the transport networks of lowand middle-income countries. We asked him about the report and how these networks cope with sudden weather-related events.
How was the study undertaken?
We reviewed the current literature, processes and products on the topic from across the world. All PIARC members were sent questionnaires and country case studies were selected and detailed.
What was the coverage?
The study involved high-, lowand middle-income countries. In general, high-income countries have access to more resources for and during an extreme weather response, and it is often lowincome countries that are hit hardest by weather events. The aim was to access learning that gimproves process and actions for Fig all countries. Sixteen countries i provided details, with case studies i5including the USA,New Zealand, gIndonesia, Scotland, Nepal, Uganda, Canada and Chile.
g What were the key findings? Across the world, highways response is basic in general terms
and relies on a few individuals to react and respond within transport authorities. That response tends to be analogue - paper-based in the field with information in a non-standardised form -and is most likely to be based on views from untrained people in the affected communities.
There is also a time lag from when the impact happens to looking at the impact on the ground, with a further lag in this information getting to the decision makers able to manage the response. In general, multi-agency responses involving government and emergency services work well.
The biggest issue is the time lag in developing situational awareness and a lack of standardised information to make defensible informed decisions, which is how we have evolved in highways. We tend to focus on the damage to the asset from an engineering perspective rather than its impact on the local community, including its economy and society.
Could you give us an example?
There may be two rural bridges, both similarly damaged and out of action. However, one bridge is carrying critical utilities in its structure, such as gas pipes or communication cables. Therefore, if it's not stabilised, this bridge will cause a greater impact on the community if it fails.
There is a risk that a siloed focus on damage assessment would not direct the effort and resources to where they would have the most benefit for the community. There is a distinct difference between damage assessment and rapid impact assessment.
What were the key findings for the UK?
The challenges for the UK are similar to the global challenges in that we rely on too few individuals and have not fully addressed two key challenges. The first is how we collect, manage and report upwards the information needed to make defensible decisions quickly. The second is the fact that highways authorities need to be collaborating with emergency responders more actively before events happen, informing the plans for when disaster occurs.
Through the Department for Transport, the UK is leading the development of RIA with the Stormchain system launched at Highways UK. However, we need to scale up quickly across the nation before disaster occurs.
Justin Ward is head of policy and technical practice at CIHT
READ THE REPORT
For more information on PIARC's RIA report, go to piarc.org
-
MY PERSONALCONTINUING
T professional development (CPD)journey started with on-thejob experience and searching for the information I needed to carry out my role well. But as my career progressed, I started looking at improving not just my technical skills, but also my softer skills such as collaboration, management and leadership.
As an associate at Norman Rourke Pryme (NRP), I now manage a team of fantastic professionals, so I have to stay up to date with my technical knowledge as well as ensure that my management skills are the best they can be.
CAREER CONTROL
The role ofCIHT's (CPD) panel is to monitor and review the annual CIHT CPD cycle, which includes providing feedback on CPD submissions from CIHT members. The panel also ensures that CIHT's CPD programme meets the requirements of the Engineering Council, the UK's regulatory body for the engineering profession.
A lot of people don't realise how critical and valuable CPD is in their career. We tend to think of it as simply needing to keep up to date with our technical skills,
but there's a lot more to it. In our dynamic, changing industry, there are multiple ways that CPD can help us to stay on top.
Of course, being an expert in your selected area is really important and helps your career progress, but it also gives us job
"In our dynamic, changing industry, there are multiple ways that CPD can help us stay on top"
satisfaction. Having a technical knowledge allows us to make sure that we comply with different regulatory requirements, resulting in reduced risk and increased public trust, as well as the ability to make decisions more efficiently, saving time and money.
WHERE TO START
If you want to begin your own CPD journey, the best place to start is the CIHT website, where there are lots of online resources such as blogs, articles and documents that enable you to choose what's most relevant to your current role, as well as new roles you may have.
CIHT recommends that CPD
should be done in a planned manner, so it's worth taking the time to download the Development Action Plan (OAP)from the CIHT website or use the online version on the CIHT Learn platform. This offers a more structured approach to planning your CPD as it encourages you to think about your goals and objectives, and the type of CPD you need to achieve them.
SWOTanalysis also forms part of the OAP to help you identify which CPD you require for your personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
CIHTLEARN
The CIHT Learn platform makes it easy to track your objectives and your CPD progress. The Institution has transformed over the last few years in terms of its depth of information and number of courses, which are all delivered in different formats to suit a range of different needs. I highly recommend checking it out.
find out more about CIHT's range of CPD resources, go to bit.ly/CIHT-CPD-Guide
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