Jackson Civil Engineering developed the substance using recycled aggregates and processed waste products, stating that it will help to reduce the carbon footprint of all surfacing works.

Early calculations by the company show the low carbon foamed asphalt path could create CO2 savings of up to 90 percent, when compared with a traditional hot AC20 asphalt mix.

The process was implemented in the construction of a new cycle path for Birmingham City Council. 

Phase 1 of the 2.5km trail is already complete. The remainder will soon be underway, as the firm estimates that up to 70 tonnes of CO2 could be saved throughout the entire process.

Andy Lusher, Supply Chain Manager for Jackson, said: “The cycle path provided an opportunity to look at the original design and ask ourselves how we could do this in a more carbon-friendly way. 

“We brought our supply chain together to use their expertise and come up with a solution that was truly innovative.”

As many as 30 tonnes of CO2 was saved by using ultra-low carbon Cemfree concrete. This product beds and surrounds the kerbstones alongside the cycle path. It was originally developed by DB Group and produced by Accumix Concrete.

The success of this trial scheme may encourage other companies to confidently use low-carbon concrete and asphalt, as well as finding additional sustainable products. Both of which will help when working towards the global Zero Carbon target.

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The programme (which runs separately to Highways England’s core work) is meant to provide funding for various road initiatives across the country. The purpose of this is to support our local communities.

The initial concern came after the government-owned company stated that it had finished all 160 schemes promised under the ‘Cycling, Safety and Integration’ fund by the deadline of March 2020. However, further newly completed works were then announced, yet the figure remained the same.

After promising to complete everything between 2015 and 2020, it has been discovered that many schemes have not been built. Highways Magazine found that there were at least seven which either hadn’t been started or were left unfinished after March 2020, all of which were funded by the programme.

In addition, Highways England has also not provided its Designated Funds Advisory Group with a list of the completed schemes. Instead, they have just supplied data for a few individual initiatives.

Policy Director at Cycling UK, Roger Geffen MBE said: “As a member of Highways England’s Designated Funds Advisory Group, it frustrates me that Highways England has failed to carry out systematic reporting and monitoring of the schemes it has delivered, let alone whether its investments have achieved their stated aims – or even what those aims were.

“We do get case study reports of individual success stories, which is better than nothing. However, if Highways England is sincere about wishing to deliver safety, environmental and community benefits, it must invest in robust monitoring, so that both Highways England itself and its stakeholders can tell whether its programmes are doing what they were meant to do, or what improvements may be needed.”

The inaccurate data was also confirmed by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), whose role it is to monitor and assess Highways England’s performance.

Some councils have reported that work on such schemes has had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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