Rethinking the Road Ahead: What Does a New Focus on A Roads Mean for National Highways?

When National Highways chief executive Nick Harris recently suggested that the next five-year investment plan (RIS3, 2026–2031) would see a stronger focus on improving safety across A roads, it sounded, at first, like a sensible recalibration.

After all, A roads account for a significant proportion of collisions on England’s strategic road network (SRN), and experts at the Road Safety Foundation have long urged more attention there.

But Harris’s comments raise a deeper, strategic question:If National Highways — a company created to manage and modernise the SRN — is now pivoting towards maintenance, behaviour change and incremental safety improvements, what does that mean for its role as the government’s delivery body for major infrastructure?

The shift comes at a time when the agency’s biggest projects are under unprecedented scrutiny.

Megaprojects on Pause: A Shift in National Priorities

The Stonehenge Tunnel, once the flagship of the A303 upgrade programme, is now officially off the table after Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander moved to revoke its Development Consent Order earlier this autumn. The decision cited “exceptional circumstances,” but few missed the political message: in an era of constrained public spending, projects with long timelines and high environmental controversy are no longer safe bets.

The same can be said of the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC), now mired in cost reviews and governance questions. Ministers have publicly voiced concerns about delivery structures and transparency, prompting the Department for Transport (DfT) to re-examine whether National Highways — which has spent years developing the scheme — remains the right body to lead it.

A senior DfT source recently commented that the department is “looking carefully at how major projects are governed to ensure accountability and value for money,” adding that “National Highways must demonstrate it has both the capability and the public trust to deliver in a different financial landscape.”

Meanwhile, the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project, another RIS2 flagship, has been scaled back to reduce costs and environmental impact. The result is a major programme in flux — a network of partial upgrades, paused tunnels, and delayed corridors — and a company caught between long-term ambition and short-term realism.

From Builder to Custodian?

National Highways was created in 2015 to replace the Highways Agency, a move designed to professionalise and depoliticise England’s strategic roads. With corporate status, a licence from the transport secretary, and five-year funding settlements, it was supposed to act like an infrastructure business — not a government department.

However, nearly a decade later, the boundaries are blurring again. Recent ministerial statements have suggested a “back to basics” approach: prioritising safety, maintenance, and incremental upgrades over transformative new schemes.

In a speech earlier this year, then-roads minister Richard Holden noted that “our strategic network is an asset that must be preserved and made safer before it is expanded,” hinting at a reorientation of National Highways’ remit away from grand projects and towards stewardship.

Nick Harris’s recent remarks to Highways Magazine echo that shift.

“We’re looking at perhaps more focus on A roads than on motorways, which is where we will probably have the greatest impact on improving safety,” he said.

In this emerging vision, National Highways sounds less like a builder of new motorways and more like a guardian of road safety and network resilience — a shift with significant implications for its identity, structure, and performance metrics.

Governance and Public Trust

The Lower Thames Crossing governance review has exposed growing tensions between the need for autonomy and the demand for oversight. Critics argue that the company’s arm’s-length status has created an accountability gap, with ministers ultimately answerable to Parliament for decisions taken by a “corporate” entity that can spend billions before a spade hits the ground.

Similarly, the Stonehenge Tunnel saga — from High Court challenges to DCO revocations — has raised questions about how National Highways manages risk and public engagement, especially on projects intersecting with environmental and heritage concerns.

If the A303 and A66 symbolised bold ambition, their unravelling may now symbolise the return of pragmatism — and with it, a redefining of what “delivery” means in 21st-century transport.

A Crossroads for the Strategic Road Network

National Highways is entering RIS3 with a mandate that looks less about expansion and more about making existing assets work better: safer A roads, smarter technology, greener maintenance, and closer collaboration with local partners.

But this evolution also raises existential questions. Can a government-owned company designed for delivery pivot effectively into a role centred on stewardship? How does it measure success when the goal is no longer ribbon-cutting but risk reduction?

And, perhaps most fundamentally, is the current governance model — corporate independence under ministerial licence — still fit for purpose when public expectations of transparency and sustainability are rising?

Conclusion: Rebuilding Trust, Not Just Roads

The national road network remains one of Britain’s most valuable public assets. But with megaprojects paused and scrutiny intensifying, the coming years may test not only the durability of its tarmac but the credibility of the organisation managing it.

National Highways’ shift toward A-road safety could mark a new chapter — one focused on people, places, and performance rather than prestige projects. Yet it also challenges the company, ministers, and the industry to redefine what success looks like when the journey ahead demands both accountability and adaptation.

By [Your Name], for publication as a thought leadership feature.This analysis draws on original reporting from Highways Magazine and recent government statements regarding the Lower Thames Crossing, Stonehenge Tunnel, and A66 corridor programme.