From asphalt to algorithms: How RIS3 is driving a digital revolution in England's roads

The UK’s Strategic Road Network (SRN), a 4,500-mile backbone of motorways and major A roads, has undergone a significant transformation since the launch of the first Road Investment Strategy (RIS1) in 2015. Now, with RIS3 on the horizon for 2025–2030, the direction is clear: the future of roads is not just about concrete and tarmac, but data, sensors, and intelligent systems. Potentially with all new roads requiring to be digital! As National Highways embraces the digital era, construction companies and their Tier 1 delivery partners must adapt or risk being left behind.

The RIS evolution: from build to smart

RIS1 (2015–2020) focused heavily on expansion and upgrades. It represented the first structured commitment to long-term road investment, allocating £15.2bn to major capital schemes like the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement. The goal: build more roads, reduce congestion, and increase capacity.

RIS2 (2020–2025) shifted emphasis. While capital projects continued, the spotlight turned toward maintenance, efficiency, and environmental considerations, with a larger budget of £27.4bn. Performance metrics became clearer, and scrutiny from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) increased.

RIS3 (2025–2030) marks the next frontier: digital transformation. It's about embedding technology, decarbonising operations, and using data to improve safety, efficiency, and sustainability. The vision is not just to build more roads but to make them smarter.

Enter the digital road

Under RIS3, National Highways is aiming to become a data-driven infrastructure operator. Here's how:

• Sensors and IoT will be embedded in road surfaces, bridges, gantries and signage. These will track traffic flows, detect asset degradation, monitor weather, and enable automated responses.
  
• Digital twins, virtual replicas of physical assets, will integrate with Building Information Modelling (BIM), real-time sensor data, and AI algorithms. This allows predictive maintenance and stress-testing of infrastructure before problems occur.
  
• AI-driven data platforms will consolidate streams from across the SRN to provide actionable insights, automate reporting, and inform investment decisions.
  
• Connected Corridors are being piloted to support autonomous vehicles and V2I (vehicle-to-infrastructure) communication.
  

The ambition is nothing short of a digital revolution. National Highways' own Digital Roads Strategy outlines plans to digitise the entire SRN by 2035.

The construction gap: reality on the ground

Yet the companies delivering RIS3 may need support to be ready.

Tier 1 contractors and civil engineering firms (e.g., Costain, Balfour Beatty, Kier) face significant challenges:

• Systems are siloed. Data is stored across disconnected platforms, PDFs, and spreadsheets.
  
• Digital twins are treated as BIM outputs, not as live assets.
  
• Environmental and carbon reporting is often manual and retrospective.
  
• Field and office teams operate on different data cycles.
• Admin time outweighs problem-solving and engineering.
  

This is where the real opportunity lies.