Skip to main content

Highways Agency chief executive to step down

The Chief Executive of the Highways Agency (HA), Graham Dalton, announced today that he is leaving his post in the summer. During his seven years in post Graham has led the agency through a time of financial constraint and of growing ambition for the strategic road network. He has led the agency as it has established a strong reputation for efficiency, for delivering capital investment, and for operating one of the most intensively used road networks in Europe. Graham Dalton said: “It has been a priv
January 29, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
The Chief Executive of the 503 Highways Agency (HA), Graham Dalton, announced today that he is leaving his post in the summer.

During his seven years in post Graham has led the agency through a time of financial constraint and of growing ambition for the strategic road network.  He has led the agency as it has established a strong reputation for efficiency, for delivering capital investment, and for operating one of the most intensively used road networks in Europe.

Graham Dalton said: “It has been a privilege to lead the Highways Agency through such an exciting time. I am leaving the business in good shape with a great team of people and an unprecedented five year fixed investment plan.

“Highways England, which will come into being in April following Royal Assent of the government’s Infrastructure Bill, will need a chief executive who can commit to delivering the first Roads Investment Strategy which runs to 2020. I will work with chairman Colin Matthews to ensure an orderly handover to my successor in the summer.”

HA chairman Colin Matthews said: "Graham has led the Highways Agency to the point where we can confidently confront the fresh opportunities and challenges in the government's Road Investment Strategy. I thank him warmly for all he has achieved during his successful tenure as CEO."

The Highways Agency, an agency of the 1837 Department for Transport, is the organisation responsible for the operation, maintenance and improvement of the strategic road network in England.

The Infrastructure Bill, currently going through Parliament, will see the Highways Agency become a government-owned company, Highways England, responsible for delivering over 100 new road schemes between now and the end of the next parliament.

Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin said: "I would like to thank Graham on behalf of the Department for his sterling service both to the Highways Agency and the government.

"Over the past seven years Graham has worked tirelessly to oversee the delivery of vital upgrades on our strategic road network, including the dualling of the A11, the introduction of the Dart Charge and the smart motorway network and improvements on the M25, M6 and M62.  ‎A road network that is safe, well-constructed and keeps Britain moving is vital to a growing economy. Graham will be handing over an organisation that has the interests of motorists right at its heart."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Section of M6 motorway to be made ‘smart’
    November 1, 2013
    A section of the M6 motorway in the UK between junctions 10a and 13 is to be upgraded to a smart (managed) motorway with all-lane running. This section of the motorway is a major strategic route, carrying around 120,000 vehicles per day.
  • Traffic alert app from Pennsylvania company launches in UK
    August 6, 2012
    Motorists using major highways in England can now access real-time, personalised traffic and roadway travel information on their smartphones by downloading a free app developed by Philadelphia-based Information Logistics. The Hands-Free Traffic Talker England (HFT England) app audibly broadcasts information about a motorist's specific travel route, freeing the user from the distractions of touching the phone, reading messages, or listening to irrelevant traffic alerts.
  • Traffic alert app from Pennsylvania company launches in UK
    August 6, 2012
    Motorists using major highways in England can now access real-time, personalised traffic and roadway travel information on their smartphones by downloading a free app developed by Philadelphia-based Information Logistics. The Hands-Free Traffic Talker England (HFT England) app audibly broadcasts information about a motorist's specific travel route, freeing the user from the distractions of touching the phone, reading messages, or listening to irrelevant traffic alerts.
  • Managed motorways, hard shoulder running aids safety, saves time
    January 30, 2012
    The announcement that, in 2012/13, work to extend Managed Motorways to Junctions 5-8 of the M6 near Birmingham in the West Midlands is scheduled to start marks the next step for the UK's hard shoulder running concept, first introduced on the M42 in 2006. The M6 scheme is in fact one of several announced; over the next few years work will start on applying Managed Motorways to various sections of the M1, M25 London Orbital, M60 and M62. According to Paul Unwin, senior project manager with the Highways Agency