Highways bosses to remove 145 miles of lighting on two major motorways in net zero drive

Highways bosses are set to permanently remove more than 140 miles of motorway lighting on some of the busiest sections in the UK - to cut carbon emissions. Highways England has admitted the plan after a parliamentary question was submitted.

And it is going ahead even though a previous light switch off programme was cancelled in 2019 because of a rise in accidents.

Highways England said that it is trialling turning off lights on sections of the road - with a view to permanently remove them.

During the trial period the number of casualties are compared to figures from the previous five years and if the assessmentpasses the lights will be removed forever.

The current two sections which have been switched off are between M6 Keele Bank services and Strensham Services on the M5 - one of the busiest pieces of road in the UK - for a total of around 91 miles and from the M27 J12 to the M3 J13 in Hampshire which is about 54 miles long.

Tory Rebecca Paul raised the issue, submitting a written question to Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander asking: "What recent discussions she has had with National Highways on its programme of (a) turning off and (b) removing lights on motorways?"

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Future of Roads Lilian Greenwood replied saying the change was being made to hit net zero targets: "The Department meets monthly with National Highways to discuss its performance and delivery. This includes discussions on the company's actions to meet its Key Performance Indicator targets, one of which is Corporate Carbon reduction.

"Electricity used to light the strategic road network is by far the biggest contributor to National Highways' overall carbon emissions. To meet the reduction target, National Highways has been trialling turning off some sections of lighting, where it has been assessed safe to do so, alongside its LED replacement programme."

A National Highways spokesperson said: "Safety is our priority and any decision to remove lighting is fully researched and carefully considered. This allows us to use taxpayers money on improving other elements of the road network that bring greater safety benefits for drivers while reducing our carbon output."

Any section of motorway where lighting is considered for removal undergoes a year-long trial switch-off. Nighttime casualty figures from the previous five years are then assessed.

National Highways is responsible for around 4,500 miles of motorways and major A-roads across England approximately a third of which is lit. It is currently looking to change 70% of our street lighting assets to LED by 2027 - meaning all sections of the roads are being assessed for light removal.

However, a previous similar scheme took place between 2009 and 2019, where motorway lighting was turned off between midnight and 5am on around 100 miles of its network, with some lighting not switched on at all. A Highways England study on casualties on the strategic road network revealed that on 'lighting unlit' sections, which included lighting that was non-operational for other reasons, casualties rose by 88% (from 93 to 175) between 2010 and 2017. The report points out that this is a relatively low figure, compared to the 14,225 casualties on the network as a whole during the year.

In 2019 it emerged that Highways England decided not to operate the midnight switch-off strategy since 2018 and had stopped turning them off anywhere on the network. It said this was because it is now installing LED lighting.rk.

Head of road safety Richard Leonard said at the time: "Safety is our top priority. On our roads we light what needs to be lit, and we know where those locations are. We have a greater understanding of where night-time collisions occur and the impact road lighting would have. This means we can target lighting where it is needed, rather than putting lights everywhere.

"We are absolutely committed to further reducing deaths and injuries on England's motorways and major A roads. This will require a concerted effort and investment over the long term."

The company said at the time that data 'suggests that you are more likely to be involved in a casualty incident on a lit section of road'. However, this could reflect the fact that lighting is more likely to be installed on more dangerous sections of the network.