New ideas that could take the sting out of roadworks for drivers and fleets are to be trialled with the help of National Highways support.

The 10 chosen projects that could help reduce the impact of roadworks on road users

It’s chosen 10 winners from a recent innovation competition, all of which will now get £15,000 to develop their projects.

The winning solutions include work to improve the planning of roadworks, enabling more efficient road maintenance and providing real-time data to help people better plan their journeys.

The projects range from a digital twin system to a centralised hub for engagement with road users and video analytics software for insight on roadwork experiences.

The competition was launched by National Highways in collaboration with Connected Places Catapult and both organisations will provide technical and commercial support to help the winners develop and scale up their innovations.

National Highways customer service director, Laura Baker-Lacey said: “We wanted to find ideas that we hadn’t trialled, tested or even thought of ourselves – and we haven’t been disappointed. We have chosen 10 very exciting projects that could really help reduce the impact of roadworks on road users.

“Roadworks are an essential part of managing, developing and maintaining our roads but we know they are a cause of frustration for not only drivers but those in the surrounding communities and local businesses. We hope these ideas will make the experience of roadworks a kinder one and look forward to seeing how the projects develop.”

The competition is funded through National Highways’ Designated Funds, which provides ring-fenced funding to invest and support initiatives that deliver lasting benefits for road users, the environment and communities across England.