Case Study: National Highways (England)

National Highways is responsible for the strategic road network across England, delivering upgrades and expansions to motorways and major A-roads. As part of its £195 million Archaeology Framework, the agency committed to investigating, recording, and preserving archaeological remains in advance of construction works.

Infra JV, combining the expertise of Rubicon Heritage Services Ltd and Network Archaeology Ltd, was appointed as a delivery partner under this framework. The challenge was to mobilise responsive, scalable teams capable of supporting multiple schemes simultaneously — ensuring construction could proceed on schedule while safeguarding heritage assets to the highest standards.

Infra JV deployed flexible, multidisciplinary teams of archaeologists, surveyors, and heritage specialists. The approach followed a progressive methodology tailored to infrastructure delivery:

• Desk-based assessments to map known heritage assets.
• Geophysical surveys to detect subsurface remains across greenfield and brownfield sites.
• Targeted trial trenching to verify anomalies.
• Full-scale excavation of key sites, supported by drone imaging, soil sampling, and advanced digital recording.

Close collaboration with National Highways, Historic England, and local authorities ensured all works adhered to national standards of care, preservation, and compliance.

As the framework covers multiple road schemes across England, discoveries have ranged from prehistoric landscapes to Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlements. Typical outputs included:

• Supported National Highways in delivering its £195 million Archaeology Framework across England.
• Enabled road projects to progress on schedule while meeting cultural heritage obligations.
• Preserved and recorded valuable archaeological data for future study and community engagement.
• Strengthened National Highways’ reputation for delivering infrastructure responsibly, with cultural value alongside engineering.

Our role within the National Highways framework demonstrates Infra JV’s capability to integrate archaeology into critical road infrastructure projects. Clients choose Infra for: