RIS3: what the next five years of road investment mean on the ground
RIS3 is the third Road Investment Strategy for England's strategic road network. The Department for Transport published RIS3 on 26 March 2026. RIS3 commits more than £27 billion to operating, maintaining, renewing and improving England's motorways and major A roads between April 2026 and March 2031. National Highways delivers the strategy.
What is RIS3?
RIS3 is the government's five-year funding plan for the strategic road network. RIS3 follows a one-year interim settlement that covered 2025–26. National Highways operates and maintains the strategic road network on behalf of the Department for Transport.
Where is RIS3 funding going?
RIS3 prioritises renewals over new road building. RIS3 allocates around £8.4 billion to renewals, including resurfacing, structural repairs and the replacement of worn-out motorway sections. The RIS3 maintenance drive covers nearly 6,000 miles of motorway and major A-road lanes – almost a quarter of the network.
Enhancement schemes receive around £3.8 billion under RIS3. Twelve enhancement projects are due to open to traffic during the RIS3 period.
What does RIS3 mean for temporary traffic management?
Renewals work depends on temporary traffic management. Every resurfacing, joint replacement or structural repair scheme needs a safe, compliant working area for the workforce and the travelling public.
A renewals-led programme places four demands on traffic management contractors:
Repeatable reliability. Renewals work is typically delivered as a series of shorter schemes, often within tight possession windows. A late install or a missing crew can push a scheme back by weeks.
Night and weekend capacity. Off-peak working is common on renewals schemes. Traffic management contractors need trained operatives available when the works take place.
Early planning. Every renewals scheme, whatever its duration, needs design, risk assessment, permits and, where required, Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders.
Certified competence. NHSS 12A/B covers static temporary traffic management on motorways and high-speed dual carriageways. NHSS 12D covers rural and urban roads.
How does RIS3 affect the traffic management supply chain?
RIS3 gives the highways sector five years of funding certainty. The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) has long called for stable, long-term funding to end stop-start delivery, and has welcomed RIS3 as providing that framework.
Sustained renewals activity increases demand for skilled traffic management crews, vehicles and equipment. In our experience, principal contractors who bring a traffic management partner into planning early face fewer capacity problems later.
Does RIS3 cover local roads?
RIS3 does not cover local roads. Local highway authorities manage local roads under separate funding. The government has confirmed £7.3 billion for local highway maintenance between 2026–27 and 2029–30. The funding aims to help councils plan ahead and shift towards preventative maintenance. For contractors working on county and district schemes, that points to a steadier pipeline of planned maintenance work.
How does Beaumont Traffic Management support RIS3-era works?
Beaumont Traffic Management provides temporary traffic management for civil engineering and construction clients across the UK and holds ISO 9001:2015 and NHSS 12A/B and 12D certification.
Our team is directly employed and brings nearly 30 years of industry experience. Every scheme is individually assessed and priced, with no automated quotes or standard templates.
Planning maintenance or renewal works in the coming months? Speak to our team early, and we'll help you plan a scheme that is safe, compliant and delivered on programme.
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