AtkinsRéalis on 10-year highways code update: asset and risk lessons for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on New Civil Engineer
30 Second Briefing
The UK highways sector is updating the 10-year-old Well-managed Highway Infrastructure code to capture changes in asset management, risk-based maintenance and funding pressures since its last issue. AtkinsRéalis technical director (highways) is helping steer revisions on lifecycle planning, whole-life cost modelling and resilience of pavements, structures and drainage to more frequent extreme weather. For asset owners and term-maintenance contractors, the refresh signals closer alignment of inspection regimes, condition data, and intervention levels with current DMRB standards and local authority budget constraints.
Technical Brief
- Asset management chapters are being restructured so pavements, structures and drainage share common risk and data principles.
- Data requirements are expected to push authorities towards more consistent condition scoring and defect categorisation across networks.
- Guidance is being expanded on integrating non-destructive testing and structural health monitoring into routine structures management.
- Drainage and flood-risk sections are being strengthened to address culvert capacity, outfall blockage and exceedance routing.
- For term-maintenance contracts, clearer lifecycle and risk expectations are intended to support performance-based payment mechanisms.
Our Take
AtkinsRéalis is simultaneously refreshing its role in UK highways standards while expanding its delivery footprint, as shown by its recent appointment to Birmingham City Council’s £200M Transportation and Infrastructure Professional Services Framework, which will expose it directly to how any new management code is implemented at city level.
The firm’s selection as Network Rail’s delivery partner for the Wales & Western region under CP7 (2024–2029) suggests that its highways management thinking is likely to be informed by, and cross-fertilised with, current UK rail asset management practices and whole-life risk approaches.
Within our 831 Infrastructure stories, AtkinsRéalis appears frequently in items tagged to standards and complex projects, signalling that its input into a 10‑year update of a UK highways management code is likely to influence not just policy language but also how future framework bids are scoped and evaluated for sustainability performance.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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