TfL to make capital’s roads ‘safer, greener and more efficient’ with new Works for London programme

TfL’s new Works for London programme is set to make the capital’s roads ‘safer, greener and more efficient’, bringing together all the contracts for roadworks and maintenance it is responsible for.

Three infrastructure companies  – Ringway, FM Conway Limited and Tarmac Kier JV – will partner with TfL over the next eight years on the  programme. It will oversee the maintenance of TfL’s road network (TLRN), which consists of 5% of London’s road space, but carries 30% of the traffic. It will support more than 600 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs through TfL’s supply chain.

The programme includes the maintenance of 580 kilometres of carriageway, including any trial cycle lanes, 43 kilometres of permanent protected cycle track and more than 6,000 cycle stands.

TfL’s roads, tunnel and bus network are the most intensively used transport network in the UK with 3.7 billion road journeys and 2.4 billion bus journeys in a normal year. 80% of all journeys in the capital happen on its roads, including walking, cycling and bus journeys and 30% of those journeys are on the TfL road network.

Works for London will ensure that sustainability is ‘at the centre’ of TfL’s road maintenance and projects and all new electric Works for London vans will be introduced over the next year along with 5,500 new LED streetlights. Cargo bikes will also be added to the fleet used to perform inspections, audits and repairs and drones will be used for structural inspections. As part of the programme, 70% of all street lights TfL uses will be LED by the end of 2023, which will save TfL £2-3 million and will lead to a 65% reduction in the use of electricity on TfL assets.

The programme will also be used to deliver schemes to boost walking and cycling including future projects to expand London’s growing network of cycleways. These projects will be vital to enabling more people in the capital to make journeys by bike and on foot, which will help to cut congestion, air pollution and road danger across London.

“We’re determined to ensure London has a green recovery from the pandemic and our new Works for London programme will ensure sustainability is at the heart of our roads maintenance, while supporting more walking and cycling everywhere,” said Glynn Barton, TfL’s director of network management.

“From making our vehicle fleet fully electric to planting more trees, Works for London will ensure the capital’s roads are efficient, green and safe for years to come.”

Read the June issue of BikeBiz below: