New roads plan: a chance to fix our roads

The government’s five year roads plan (RIS3) [1] is expected to be published on Thursday 26 March. It sets out National Highways’ five-year budget between 2026-31, expected to total £25 billion [2]. It will reveal how much is being spent on road maintenance (a top priority for road users), and road schemes to be built up to 2031. It will also list schemes to be developed for construction after 2031 (in RIS4).

Transport Action Network (TAN) [3] has written to Heidi Alexander setting out why, with surging oil prices, increasing extreme weather events and our failing road network, it makes economic sense for the government to rethink its approach to RIS3 [4].

Ministers have said that RIS3 will be more focused on maintenance [5] as recommended by the House of Commons Transport Committee [6], whilst previous consultations showed road users prioritise improving safety and the environment, not building bigger roads [7]. However, expensive road projects left over from the previous roads plan (RIS2) are likely to swallow up much of the RIS3 budget, leaving less for maintenance. 

Chris Todd, TAN’s Director, said:

“After the failure of the last roads plan (RIS2) when National Highways missed many key targets, including on safety and delays, we need a different approach [8]. In a world of increasing unpredictability, we need a plan that is focused on resilience to extreme weather events and maintenance, to minimise disruption to the economy. It needs to actually deliver on safety, tackling congestion and cutting carbon emissions, instead of just talking about these issues. One way to achieve this would be to invest in traffic reduction, rather than building bigger roads which didn’t work well in RIS2.”

TAN will be available on Thursday 26 March for comment when the RIS3 is laid before Parliament. TAN has previously contributed to three consultations on the development of RIS3 [9]. 

– ENDS –

Notes to editors:

[1] The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) sets out the government’s priorities for the Strategic Road Network for the five year period between 2026-31. It also sets out the funding allocation for National Highways and how the DfT expects this to be spent. The RIS3 includes a list of new road projects the DfT wants National Highways to build, and a pipeline of new road schemes for National Highways to develop for the next road period, RIS4 (2031-36). 

[2] The draft RIS3, published in August 2025 included a Statement of Funds Available which included a total funding envelope of £24.983bn. 

[3] TAN was set up in 2019 by director, Chris Todd, to help communities press for better (more sustainable) transport. It supports more investment in bus and rail services and active travel. To enable this and better road maintenance (fewer potholes) it opposes damaging road building. It also supports better integration between transport and planning.

[4] Letter to Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP: Maximising opportunities from the third road investment strategy (RIS3), 16 March, 2026

[5] In the DfT’s Performance Report on National Highways 2024-25, Heidi Alexander confirmed that “RIS3 will have a greater emphasis on maintenance and renewals” whilst the Interim Settlement published in March 2025 stated that “While RIS3 has yet to be agreed, it is likely that investment will be increasingly focussed on maintaining and renewing the existing Strategic Road Network”. 

[6] In July 2023 the House of Commons Transport Committee recommended “Future investment should be focused on renewing older parts of the SRN and ensuring that resources are available to run the network in a way which better meets the needs of the drivers and industries that rely on it. The portfolios for RIS 3, RIS 4 and beyond should prioritise investment in the maintenance, renewal and resilience of existing assets over brand new projects.” (Paragraph 35)

[7] The DfT’s RIS3 consultation report showed road users prioritised improving safety and the environment (Figure 2). 

[8] Annual Assessment of National Highways’ performance: end of the second road period April 2020 to March 2025, Office of Rail and Road, 15 January, 2026

[9] TAN’s response to DfT policy paper on RIS3, February 2022

TAN’s response to DfT consultation on RIS3, July 2023

TAN’s response to the draft RIS3, November 2025