Suicide prevention assessments will become mandatory for certain UK road infrastructure designs under new guidance led by National Highways and the UK Roads Leadership Group (UKRLG), claimed to be the first such requirement in Europe. The assessment will apply at design stage to features such as overbridges, high retaining walls and roadside structures where fall risks and access to live traffic are significant. Designers will need to integrate physical measures like higher parapets, anti-climb detailing and controlled access points, with implications for structural detailing, whole-life maintenance and scheme cost–benefit cases.

CIHT is calling for the UK Government to move local highway maintenance to a rolling five‑year funding model, arguing that predictable settlements could release up to £2.2bn for reinvestment in local roads. Longer horizons are intended to let highway authorities shift from reactive pothole repairs to planned resurfacing, asset management and whole‑life pavement design. For civil and geotechnical teams, this would support more efficient programming of resurfacing, drainage upgrades and structural maintenance of bridges and retaining walls.

DfI has published its Transport Strategy 2035 and launched consultation on the draft Eastern Transport Plan 2035, setting a long-term framework for road, rail and active travel investment across the east of Northern Ireland. The plan will guide corridor upgrades on key radial routes into Belfast, prioritise bus and rail capacity improvements, and reallocate urban road space for segregated cycling and walking. For civil and transport engineers, it signals the reference document for future junction designs, multimodal interchanges and network resilience schemes through to 2035.