Highway Engineer - Design Standards, Specification for Highway Works

Design Standards

Although the detailed design must be produced to satisfy the current national design standards and guidelines (Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and Manual for Streets) each Local Highway Authority will have its own local design standards and construction details which the design must comply with for the works to be adopted by the Local Highway Authority. “Adoption” means that once construction is complete and has passed the period of provisional maintenance, the Local Highway Authority takes over all future responsibility for the highway works and that they become part of the public highway with all inferred rights.

As well as layout geometry, pavement design and maintenance, road lining and marking, traffic signs, lighting, traffic control and communications, the design standards also include highway structures, geotechnics and drainage, assessment and preparation of road schemes, environmental design and assessments, traffic appraisal of road schemes and economic assessment of road schemes and road maintenance.

Specification for Highway Works

The Specification for Highway Works has been developed by the Department for Transport for the Trunk Road network – i.e. any road on the strategic network that is controlled by National Highways. PDF’s of the current Specification for Highway Works are available for download from the Standards for Highways website.

The Specification for Highway Works forms Volume 1 of the Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works (MCHW) and is complimented by Volume 2, which gives advice and guidance in the implementation of the specifications given in Volume 1, as well as examples of tables and appendices necessary for the contract.

Each element of the Specification is given a Series reference number. Examples are given below:

Series 300 - Fencing
Series 500 – Drainage and Service Ducts
Series 600 - Earthworks

Within the Contract Document, each Local Highway Authority has the ability to amend the Specification for Highway Works to suit their region. This also enables local highway authorities to trial new / locally manufactured products and materials.

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Construction Traffic Management Plan

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Travel Plan

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Design Standards, Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, Manual for Streets, Local Highway Authority

Local Design Standards, Construction Details, Local Highway Authority

Adoption, Maintenance, Pavement Design, Traffic Signs