Press release: See behind Highways England’s roadworks with ‘Open Doors’

Highways England is taking part in ‘Open Doors’ and giving members of the public a unique chance to go behind the scenes of five ‘live’ construction sites to see how the roads and structures are built or maintained.

The national week-long initiative starts on Monday 19 March until Saturday 24 March and anyone interested in visiting the sites is urged to register for a place.

With 2018 being the “Year of Engineering” this is also an ideal opportunity for young people considering career ideas, adults thinking about a change in occupation, parents, guardians and people involved in education to come and find out about the diverse range of skills and professions needed on site.

Mike Wilson, Chief Highways Engineer and director of Safety, Engineering and Standards, said:

“Our roads connect the country with around 4 million journeys on them each day. With a record level of investment in roads now is an exciting time for us to show, as part of Open Doors, the hard work that goes on behind the roadworks.

“We want to inspire future generations to join Highways England and as well as organising our own activities in support of the Government’s 2018 Year of Engineering campaign, this is an ideal opportunity for young people, parents and teachers to come to our construction sites and take a closer look at what we do.”

The five Highways England sites taking part are below – there are limited spaces and registration is needed in advance via the Open Doors website.

East of England

Three sites for the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon road scheme (Swavesey, Brampton and Ermine Street – A1198 near Godmanchester) – A14 project talk, guided bus site tour and Q & A session.

Midlands

M5 Oldbury Viaduct – a project talk, tour of the viaduct (above and below) to see work being carried out.

South East

M2 Stockbury Viaduct – a welcome talk and video and the opportunity to climb up scaffolding (using stair cases not ladders) to see where the bridge is being lifted.

With the UK needing an extra 20,000 engineering graduates a year, the Year of Engineering campaign is showing young people what an engineer is, and what they can achieve. Highways England need a continuing pipeline of young engineers to help deliver the massive investment planned for our motorways and major A-roads, benefitting the economy and improving people’s lives.

To sign up for a visit at the Highways England’s sites or for more details about the initiative visit the Open Doors website.

The most recent Open Doors event saw over 3,000 bookings across more than 130 construction sites in England, Scotland and Wales.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.