May 2026
From trial culture to specification culture
There is no shortage of innovation in the highways sector. New materials and the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies are continually tested in pilot schemes, demonstration projects and controlled trials. Yet too often, promising solutions remain locked in a cycle of experimentation without ever becoming embedded in standard procurement or day to day delivery. The challenge for the sector is simply adoption.
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Decarbonisation of our highway infrastructure is intrinsically linked to how governments, local highway authorities, contractors and not-for-profit organisations act, collaborate and support long term strategies and investments. In a 2025 report, ADEPT (The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport) highlighted that there were eight key barriers to decarbonising our transport infrastructure, citing organisational culture, procurement challenges, knowledge sharing and a lack of motivation to make green investments as core issues in the industry.
In the year since the Adept report was released, there has been small flurries of industry movement, but not enough to warrant real change in the sector. However, even the smallest nudge in the right direction can be enough to deliver a ripple affect across the UK.
Increased accountability
In April 2026, the UK government’s Department for Transport issued a letter to local authorities with new incentives to achieve their funding for the 2026/27 financial year. Under the new rules, local authorities must submit and publish a highways maintenance transparency report within three months of receiving access to guidance, otherwise they risk losing all their allocated funding from the budget. This is roughly a third of their annual maintenance income. Local authorities must also provide evidence that they are continuing their professional development by 30th November.
The new enforced rules have been a response to recommendations from the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee to ensure that local authorities are using all their allocated funding to repair, rebuild and refresh local roads. This call for increased accountability has, for the most part, been met with positivity amongst key stakeholders. However, there is a minority that believe such stringent rules could be counterproductive, especially in light of the rising backlog of road repairs, which now stands at a recorded £18.62bn, according to the latest ALARM survey.
As a distributor of raw materials for UK road infrastructure, ACI Group firmly backs the new rules set by the Department of Transport. It is our responsibility, amongst other stakeholders, to uphold our values in transparency and discover where there are potential gaps for improvement. Local authorities know there are credible solutions available, but they lack the motivation to make real-world changes. Incentives like those applied by the Department of Transport could herald in a new wave of repeatable, procurement led adoption by local authorities, where innovation is no longer an exception, but part of how projects are delivered.
No more “we’ve always done it this way”
When the industry also lacks the courage to change its culture, infrastructure becomes unstable. The £18.62bn backlog of repairs is a testament to a workforce that is highly resistant to change. Considerations of low-carbon alternatives are often placed on the backburner while known materials are favoured. Traditional approaches to trials are lengthy, frequently run independently, with local authorities slow to adopt. The lack of clarity and avoidance of ‘net zero’ terminology in proposed plans due to political contention, with some local authorities forbidden to use it.
Organisational cultural change comes from the top. With the Department of Transport urging local authorities to report maintenance of their highways, now is the time to showcase network complexity and prove that multi-year funding is what’s needed to provide preventative maintenance that goes beyond short-term repairs.
New and innovative materials that are currently being used on European roads to meet motorists’ expectations of smoother journeys, can now begin to surface with wider appeal. These are proven technologies, used within operational schemes by contractors and local authorities, that are already making an impact on some UK roads.
Shifting dynamics
As part of a three-year £30 million UK-wide programme, funded by the Department for Transport, ADEPT Live Labs 2 is an example of this push for innovation, collaboration and cultural change to decarbonise local highways infrastructure. Led by local authorities, commercial and academic partners, the programme is grouped into four themes across seven projects across the UK, including North Lanarkshire’s Motherwell scheme, the Devon A382 development and the Greenprint project for West Sussex and South Gloucestershire.
The second installation in North Lanarkshire, which was completed in March, was delivered in partnership with North Lanarkshire Council and HOCHTIEF as part of the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads Project. EcoFlakes, the high-performance recycled polymer asphalt additive was deployed as part of the project. Distributed exclusively in the UK by ACI Group, EcoFlakes is moving rapidly from trial to trusted mainstream use, signalling a clear shift in dynamics with local authorities.
Thanks to the growing confidence in successful projects like Live Labs 2, the shift from trial culture to specification culture is on the rise. AI is also playing a major role in this area, with the likes of Cambridgeshire County Council deploying an AI inspection tool called Route Reports. The software uses AI to identify defects in roads, like potholes. It then stores this information to be reviewed by strategic road authorities to determine if longer term investment is required.
A similar collaboration scheme to deliver scalable surveying services is also running with the surveying and asset management business WDM. By using SmartVision AI insight technology they can use models of over 11 million images to identify with accuracy the current road condition of a particular area.
Further decarbonisation projects are also happening elsewhere. East Riding of Yorkshire council has recently completed on several streetlighting projects as part of Live Labs 2. The project deployed reflective white paint in areas where AI-powered tools determined that streetlighting was unnecessary and alternatives could be used as a replacement. Over time, the alternative solutions will support local authorities to decrease their energy consumption needs and re-route funding towards repairing and rebuilding local infrastructure.
The road to preventative maintenance may be slow, but when cultural change is encouraged from the top, it filters its way down the ladder in time. The question is: will 2027 deliver a reduction in repair backlogs? A reprieve for local authorities at this stage would be most welcome and, more importantly, signal that real change is finally taking place, boosting industry morale.