Aug/Sept 1978

No 8/9

The Highway
Engineer
Journal of the Institution of Highway Engineers

'Whats MOLEI got to do with my cauliflowerf

-quite a lot
The answer lies in the soil I Good soil provides for a better
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FiI

One Man's View

The Highway
Engineer

Robert Phillipson, Director,

British Road Federation

.1

I
l

Journal of the Institution of Highway Engineers

,and the Highway and Traffic Technicians Association
August/September

1978

Vol. 25

No. 8/9

Contents
Presidential Address J. A. Gaffney, BSc[Eng), FICE, FIMunE, FIHE

The Vertical Alignment

Design of Roundabouts

R. Stockdale,

MICE, MIHE

Leitch at Leamington Edited Papers and discussion reports

11

Decisions Under Risk and Uncertainty

22

R. J. Bridle, SSc, FICE, FIHE

Legal Notes

24

Transportation Board Guide to new DoE/DTp Publications

25

South Wales Conference Report

27

Institution news

30

Highway and Traffic Technicians news

38

President: J. A. Gaffney, BSc(Engl, FICE,

FIMunE, FIHE
Secretary: Miss P. A. Steel, SA
3 Lygon Place. Ebury Street, London, SW 1W OJS
The Institution is responsible neither
for statements made nor opinions expressed
in this Journal
Cover design: Brian Denyer, ARCA, FSIAD

\IABCII

MfM6EAOJ rHl
AUOH BUREAU
OF CIRCUUUIONS

Journal Subscriptions/Advertising
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Cover Story

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The SF 800 and SF 1000 have

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The forward speed can be varied from

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There
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The front cover picture illustrates the

new Wirtgen SF100 1 metre planer one
of a range of planers produced by
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<Cl

The Institution

of Highway

Enginee ... 1918

Mr William Rodgers, Secretary of State for

Transport, evidently prides himself on his
success in cutting back on road spending.
Yet, his recent White Paper on roads
reinforces their importance to the economic
and social future of the country.
Contrary to the underlying implications of
many governmental statements, the main
network is not completed; to take just one
area, Midlands industry despairs of the
pathetic progress on the M40 and M42. But
quite apart from these major gaps, the White
Paper itself sets out a trunk road programme
for England of about 400 schemes. Their
completion is government policy but
inadequately backed by finance and
management drive.
Answering a question after publication of the
White Paper Mr Rodgers declared that he
would not seek an increase in resources, nor
would he be able to use them if they were
available.
This is hardly surprising when his own
Department suffered the embarrassment of
underspending its budget by some 80

million over the past two years. The British

Road Federation criticised this some months
ago; now the Building and Civil Engineering
Neddies are saying that the Department may
well underspend its budget in the next two
years.
It may well be that ministers are shellshocked by the tactics of the public inquiry
wreckers, though new procedures do give
hopeful signs of actually working.
But the big schemes have slipped, are still
slipping and have to be fought through. They
are vital nationally. Mr Rodgers cannot be
serious about not being able to use
resources.
Materials are readily available, plant is lying
idle and 50,000 men have lost their jobs in
road construction related industries - all a
total waste and loss to the economy.
The key is 'that there is no argument, politica/
or practical, against the vast number of
smaller schemes; these include by-passes for
Market Weighton on Humberside; Whit .church on A4T: Silverstone, Axminster, Eye
on A47 or Robertsbridge and Hurst Green
by-pass on A2T. There are hundreds more
by-passes needed where the only reaction to
a new road would be celebration. It seems
odd that Mr Rodgers.is not eager to receive
the applause of road users and residents alike
for the earlier completion of these jobs.
Surely it cannot be the case that the missing
resources is the work of the highway
engineer?

Presidential address
Mr 'Gaffney's Presidential Address WClS
given at the Institution's National Conference held at University College, Swansea,
South Wales, on July 12th, 1978,
The Address preceded the three day
Conference which was attended by close
on 200 delegates and their wives and
marked the 21st anniversary of the formation of the Institution's
South Wales
Branch.
It is a great personal pleasure for me, as a
Welsh-born
President, to present this
Address at the Institution's
National
Conference heid in vVales fCi the tirst
time. The theme of the Conference, and
the one which I have chosen for my
Presidential year, is "Transport
- The
Highway Engineer's Role". There is, I
believe, quite
considerable
misunderstanding in many quarters about the
attitudes and activities of the Institution,
and its individual members, in the way the
needs of the community are served in the
field of highways and transportation. The
time is appropriate to review the role of
the highway engineer in transport, and
the Papers to be presented at the Conference, by such prominent authors, are an
excellent and wide-ranging comment on
the transport scene with an emphasis on
what is achieved by highway engineers at
present and what is expected from us.
The Conference will certainly help the
furtherance of the second object of the
Institution viz: "to promote the consideration and discussion of all questions
affecting the profession of highway and
transportation engineering, and branches
of engineering allied thereto, and of
highway and transportation engineers in
practice. "
, do not wish to anticipate the Conference Papers, nor to steal the thunder of
the authors, but there are some salient
points which will be made and to which I
would like to refer in my Address, as the
Senior
Vice-President
will
have the
privilege of summing-up the Conference.
Before doing so, I would like to give some
views on the transport scene and how the
individual members and the Institution
should respond.
The movement of people and goods
throughout the country is essential to its
economic prosperity. Many modes of
transport are available but, as with the
arteries of the body, they become clogged
and need by-passes or they simply need
careful maintenance. The body already
has an extremely well designed'system of
arteries to carry the life-blood as well as
an excellent system of nerves for instant
communication. Even if it is possible for
some transfer from road to other modes,
it will be vital to keep the arteries freeflowing
in order to cope with
the
increased movement of freight that an
expa'1ding economy demands. Manufactured goods must be transported, as well

2 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

as the employees, and transport facilities

have a key role for effective industry, both
in the regeneration of existing industrial
and urban areas, and in the location of
new developments.
~
Having emphasised\the need for transport, the problem comes in determining
the most appropriate form and how it is
to be managed. In the past, highway
engineers
have responded
to
other
people's demands and we should be
proud of previous achievements, particularly in the construction of major roads. It
is now time for us to have a greater
i"floumc::e
on the effective
use and
planning of the transport system as well
as its construction and maintenance. To
achieve such a position and have our
opinions respected, we must avoid a
parochial view. It is essential to acknowledge other disciplines involved in transport and'to have a wider understanding of
their role. In these days of greater
specialisation, a higher standard may well
be achieved within a narrow field, but this
should not be to the detriment of overall
effectiveness.
We are, of course, an
association of engineers but within this
Institution
there are
many
interests
ranging from transport planning to manufacturing
industries
and
materials
suppliers. If we are to achieve an increasing contribution to the transport field, we
must use this wide rarige of expertise.
Healthy
competition
between
these
various interests should be encouraged
but I look forward to close co-operation
within the Institution and a closer working
with other professions. The Institution's
Transportation and Construction Boards
have a significant part to play and the
joint Colloquium with the Institution of
Civil Engineers later this year on highway
maintenance, reflects this closer working.
Our future strength also idepends on
our ability to respond to the changing
situation. We must adapt to the external
pressures for change in methods
of
working, new types of transport and the
emphasis on particular types of transport.
These pressures are brought about by
economic constraints and the tooming
energy crisis, as well as the general
changes in society's lifestyle. Again a
wider view of transport is essential, but
we must ensure a flexible approach to
design. An appreciation is required of the'
need to cater for pedestrians, cyclists, car
users as well as commercial traffic and
public transport. Perhaps more critical is
the need to design for complementary
transport facilities, whether the latter are
within the highway boundaries or on
separate routes. Demands for movement
by public transport and private vehicle
fluctuate
and we, therefore, must be
capable of varying our work to suit them.
Often one hears the highway engineer
classed as a "destructive"
person and
environmentalists
seldom
express
an

MrJ.A.

(Tonyl Gaffney

appreciation of the benefits of new transport facilities. At public enquiries there are
seldom
representations
supporting
a
scheme other than from the designing
authority.
We must be seen to be
capable, however, of appreciating other
viewpoints
and
of
accommodating
reasonable demands. Unfortunately,
we
seem to have developed a situation
whereby
road construction
is being
unfairly denigrated and this might reflect
on the Institution.
It is a fact that the Institution was
founded
originally
by a membership
almost wholly interested in roads and it
has prospered on this sound base. The
objects of the Institution and, much more
to the point, the interests and activities of
its members, have altered and adapted to
reflect the broader field of transportation.
Many of our members now have responsibility for public transport planning and
this situation needs to be considered.
What
is a highway? The dictionary
defines it as "a main route by land or
water". The Institution brings together
engineers who have an understanding of
all types of transport within that definition. Our expertise is very well known to
be qualified to design, construct and
maintain roads, but it is equally well
qualified
to consider
and plan the
effective use of roads, rail or waterways.
Furthermore. by our training, we are able
to contribute towards ensuring that the
greatest possible value for money is
achieved on all projects'. In times of
financial constraint this may well become
the most important consideration.
When a project is first mooted as a
result of the determination of need, we
should not, hesitate to press for a
thorough
investigation
into the most
appropriate
type of transport
facility
required, whether the final answer is road,
rail, water, or air. Ho~ever, it is the

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

assessment of need which is the critical

factor in the long chain of events resulting
in a new facility. I feel that we should
make government more aware of the
need for increased transport expenditure
which will be to the benefit of all. In order
to be successful, we must demonstrate
that in the transport world, the highway
engineer is a responsible person, capable
of clearly understanding the wider issues
of environment, safety and economy, and
of keeping abreast of developments
affecting transport need.
I have concentrated on the policy and
planning of transport because it is at this
stage the vital decisions are made concerning the need for new construction.
We must not lose sight, however, of the
vital role of highway maintenance and
track maintenance. Clearly, even though
we need a continuing investment on new
or improved
facilities,
we must still
maintain the existing infrastructure to a
standard compatible with the use made of
it. I stress those 'Iast few words. We need
greater discrimination in the standards of
maintenance and in times of financial
stringency it is our duty to make the
government
aware of the long term
effects of reductions
in maintenance
expenditure. Although the latest projections show highway maintenance remaining constant at least for the next three
years, the damage has already occurred
by reducing expenditure to its existing
low level. Even though we continue to
improve our materials and methods of
working, it must be recognised that there
is a threshold below which maintenance
expenditure
cannot
keep pace with
deterioration.
In summarising
these
paragraphs,
therefore, I see the need for a more consistent allocation of finance for transport,
at a higher level than at present but the
need must be clearly demonstrated.
Above all, the highway engineer must
demonstrate that he has an important role
to play in the transport system as a whole
and that he is capable of carrying out that
role with a full understanding of all the
issues involved.
I believe that what I have said is in no
way at variance with some of the suggestions from the Conference Papers which I
read after the preceding paragraphs were
drafted. Members of the Institution are
"knowledgeable
people"
capable
of
judgement in the balance of value for
money, particularly in the science and art
of urban transport and road planning.
They are aware of the limited opportunity
for freight transport but they do realise
the relative roles of road, rail, water and
air. They are capable of the comprehensive view and assessment of energy
problems. They do realise that integrated
tra nsport is not realIy possi ble in a
complex situation but that co-ordination
is the key word, based on realism. Most
important of all, they have professional
integrity and try to serve the community
with sensitivity and sympathy. I believe
that the Institution and its members can
demonstrate all this and continue to grow
in importance and influence.
This last comment prompts me to turn
now to a few matters which concern the
Institution at a time when the engineering
profession
is being reviewed
by the

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

Finniston
Committee
and when
the
relationship
with
other
professional
bodies, particularly the Chartered Institutions of engineers, is also changing. As an
Affiliate
Member of the Council
of
Engineering Institutions,
we are most
anxious to establish the right relationship
and role. CEI has now had confirmation of
its supplemental charter and bye-laws and
this Institution is anxious to contribute to
its affairs.
There are two important issues which
affect the Institution, the second of which
also concerns the Highway and Traffic
Technicians Association, with which we
have such a close connection.
The first point concerns the opportunity
which will arise for members of the
Institution to obtain chartered status as
individuals' directly
through
CEI. The
Institution is not seeking a charter at
present and I say that to ensure that there
is no misunderstanding.
The Council,
however, is considering a scheme, which
will be subject to agreement with CEI,
whereby
a
member
with
suitable'
academic qualifications
and who
has
received appropriate training and reached
professional competence, will be able to
become a chartered engineer. It is not
expected that this will be the normal route
as most members will find it more
satisfactory
to proceed
through
the
schemes of the chartered institutions, like
the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Municipal Engineers, Institution of
Structural
Engineers, etc., but' it will
provide an additional avenue to chartered
status.
The second issue is related to the first
in that the Institution is now a member of
the Engineers Registration Board which
has three sections, viz: Chartered Engineers Section (of which IHE is a member).
Technician Engineer Section, and Engineering Technician
Section (on which
HTTA serves). It will be recalled that the
views of the Institution were submitted to
the Finniston Committee enquiring into
the engineering professions and included
the following statement among the conclusions:
"The ratio of Chartered to Technician
Engineers is wrong, with much of the
work which should be undertaken by
Technician
Engineers being done by
Chartered Engineers. There is a need to
improve the basic education and training
and to this end the Institution advocates
extending the ordinary University degree
cou rse to four
yea rs for
potential
Chartered Engineers; potential Technician
Engineers should undergo a less demanding academic education. The possibility
should always remain for suitable candidates to transfer from one course to the
other."
CEI recently published its comments to
the Committee and referred to the distinction which will occur between chartered
engineers and technician engineers. The
implementation of the Chilver Report by
the Institution of Civil Engineers, and the
revision by the Institution of Municipal
Engineers of its scheme for education and
training, will alter the balance in the
future. This topic was the subject of considerable debate at the meetings arranged
by CEI and held throughout the country,
attended by members of the Finniston

THE JOURNAL

Committee.
The question of registration
and/or
licensing seems to have mostly occupied
the columns of the technical press, which
is understandable as this could have an
immediate effect on the present generation of engineers. For the future, our
Institution
will have to consider very
carefully indeed how it sees the desirable
balance
and
relationship
between
chartered and technician engineers and
what the effect will be within the Institution. It is vital that we retain the liveliness
of the Institution
and the excellent
relationship between all members. This
has been the main strength of the Institution and the principal reason why it has
such a large membership, mostly professional chartered engineers, in many
fields of transport, here and overseas.
I am sure it would be the wish of
members that the Institution retains its
position as the forum for all engineers in
the field of highways and transportation.
The membership has always reflected this
and it would surely not be the aim to have
unnecessary
distinction
between
members in the future, whether they are
Chartered
Engineers,
Companions
or
Technician Engineers, particularly in contributing to the affairs of the Institution.
I hope I have sufficiently emphasised
that the Institution
has a broad and
outward-looking attitude as to its place in
the engineering professions and to the
need of transport in society, and that the
individual members can respond to those
needs. These will change and, in just the
way that Membership of the Institution
has reflected different demands in the
recent past, I am sure the highway and
transportation engineer will respond in the
future.
I can only plead for a realisation by
associations, bodies and groups pressing
their own objectives in narrow sectors of
the transport scene, often quite hysterically, that these objectives are not necessarily competitive, but are complementary. If seen as complementary,
they
should be co-ordinated to press the case
for adequate and continuing investment
for improvement and maintenance. Artificial divisions are created unnecessarily by
arguments being put forward in a derogatory way such as "too much is being
spent on roads",
or "too
much is
expended on bus revenue support".
or
"too
much is used annually on rail
support". These divisions are not helped
either by statements
like "more
for
roads", "more for buses", "more for rail",
and 50 on, in isolation. A more balanced
and co-ordinated approach is necessary if
the right amount
of
investment
in
transport is to be obtained in future.
Many members of the Institution hold
important positions in the private and
public
sectors
of
employment,
and
although !heir prime responsibility
lies
with the interests they serve directly, their
long term credibility and standing can be
ensured only by a professional attitude
and a balanced outlook.
The Institution and its members have
an outstanding opportunity to contribute
professional expertise and integrity to this
approach and thus to the benefit of the
community and the environment in which
we live.

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS 3

The Vertical Alignment Design of

Roundabouts
R. Stockdale, BTech, MICE, MIHE
Introduction
Vertical alignment design of roundabouts
always presents problems and traditional
methods of design are often inadequate,
especially when small diameter roundabouts are under consideration. The
Paper aescribes a design scheme based
upon traditional methods which has been
shown to be satisfactory, especially in
difficult situations, for all types of roundabout with any number of legs.
The c~c\.":~Hr:ee d:::ct:=cd (JiO not
necessarily the highest points on the
cross-section of a given piece of road.
They are imaginary lines which usually
indicate a change in the degree of crossfall across a road and are the lines that
surfacing equipment will work to during
construction. It is assumed that the
horizontal layout has been finalised
(Figure 1al and that the levels of all the
entry and exit roads are known, in the
case of existing roads, or have been provisionally designed in the case of
proposed roads.
Horizontal Design of Crown Profiles
Using a layout plan to 1/500 scale or
larger, allocate two letters to each leg
(entry or exit roads) and pencil in the
"inscribed circle", This need not be a
circle but should be a smooth shape
which touches each of the outer kerb
lines of the roundabout. Deflection islands

should be ignored tat this stage. The

roundabout crown line can now be drawn
as a line approximately two-thirds of the
distance between the central island and
the inscribed circle (Figure lbl.
The entry and exit crown lines can also
be constructed. These'should be smooth
curves between the centre lines of the
legs and the roundabout crown line.
(Figure le). Do this for each of the legs of
the roundabout. It is essential that the
elit,y' ClOwn lillt: ur VIIIl ieg does not
overlap with the exit crown line of the
next leg (Figure ldl. The exact position of
these crown lines is not important
although as a guide they should be
approximately parallel with the outer kerb
lines. It should be borne in mind that a
longitudinal joint in the surfacing will have
to be formed along this line.
Vertical DeSign of Crown Profiles
Ascribe one of the points where an entry
crown touches the roundabout crown line
a chainage of zero. Then, proceeding
clockwise, mark off the roundabout
crown at 5m intervals. The exit crown
lines can be allocated chainages in a
similar manner using the same chainage
base as the crown line. The entry crowns
are also ascribed chainages but they have
to increaseas the entry crown approaches
the roundabout so to ensure that the
entry crown chainage matches that of the
design and supervision of construction
of several urban road schemes.
He moved to Durham CC in 1974
and is now a Senior Section Leader in
the County Engineer's Highway Design
Section, where he has been involved
in the design of a variety of major
county highway schemes.

SUMMARY

A. Stockdale
BIOGRAPHY
MrSro~d8reg~du8md"omB~dfuro
University in 1968. He has worked for
Tarmac Civil Engineering Ltd, in the
Pfanning and Programming Department and as 8 site engineer. He was
then employed by Darlington BC in the
Capital Works Section, working on the

4 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

The method described in this Paper

revises the philosophy of the vertical
design of roundabouts. It simply, by
persuading the engineer to present the
information in a particular way, makes
the ~mifiC8tions of any of his design
decisions patentfy clear. It cannot
solve "impossible" vertical alignment
problems but at least the engineer can
minimise the sub-standaro elements
and he can make a rational decision as
to which of his design standards must
be compromised. Although
the
method described is manual, it lends
itself easily to computer-based design
systems.

roundabout crown line, it must be

calculated backwards. Sometimes this
produces negative chainages. A typical
crown line layout is shown (Figure 2) with
kerb lines omitted for the sake of clarity.
The possible combinations of entry and
exits are great but all of them can now be
combined on one long section as follows:Draw a long section with the horizontal
scare covering the whole range of
chainageson the crown lines. The vertical
scaie Should incorporate all the levels to
be dealt with. Mark on the long section
the levelsand gradients of each entry leg.
Note: each single carriageway will have
two positions on the graph, one for the
entry crown and one for exit crown
(Figure 3a), and, in the case of a single
carriageway the levels will be identical,
the gradients will be equal but arithmetically opposite [i.e. one gradient will
be + ve and one -veCbut the chainages
will be dissimilar.
The next step is to draw in a suggested
profile along the roundabout crown.
Chainage zero and the last chainage on
the roundabout crown are, in fact, the
same point so the level and gradient must
be kept the same. With experience the
engineer can pick a suitable compound
curve but to start with smooth curves
should be drawn connecting each entry to
the next exit. The points where the roundabout crown must touch these curves can
be marked on them and a roundabout
crown profile can then be sketched in
between these curves (Figure 3bl. It will
now be apparent how the entry and exit
crowns should be distorted to maximise
the radius of curvature on the roundabout
crown while still not making the radii on
the entry and exit crowns too small
(Figure 4l. If two crown lines run close to
one another in the horizontal plane it is'
important to ensure that there is not too
great a difference in the levels (i.e. too
steep a crossfall between).
It is vital that a motorist approaching a
roundabout can "read the road" ahead.
Where entry lanesrise up to a roundabout
it is essential that the give way lines can
be seen from a sufficient distance to
permit easy stopping. This may sometimes be achieved by creating a crest on
the entry road so the driver is actually on
a slight downgrade at the give way line.
The levels on the long section may then
be transferred back onto the layout, as a
series of spot levels (Figure 51.
Ancillary Levels
These can now be created by using
constant crossfalls or constant level
differences between the crown lines and
nearby channels. By this means the

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

'f:

.1

THE INSTITUTION OF HIGHW AY ENGINEERS

3 LYGGN PLACE,
EBUry STREET,
LONLON, SWI~ CJS

Telephone: 01-730 5245

PUBLIC wORKS CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION

13th - 18th November, 1978
The Public ~~orks Congress & Exhibition will be held at the National
Exhibition Centre Birmingham from Monday 13th November to Saturday 18th
November 1978.
The theme of this years Congress & Exhibition is 'Value for Money'.
The Exhibition - the biggest of its kind to be held in the U.K. and is
one of the largest in Europe (in 1976 it'attracted 73,332 registrations
including 4621 from overseas) - with the Congress will bring together
leading experts from many fields of local and national authorities.
Following the pattern of previous years the Institution will sponsor
one of the Congress Sessions. This will be on wednesday 15th November at
10.30 am. when Mr. 'B.E. Cox C.Eng, Deputy County Surveyor, Lincolnshire, will
present. a paper on' u'Cost Benefits of Highway Maintenancell The President
of the Institution, Mr. J.A. Gaffney will chair the meeting.
Mr. Cox's paper reviews research carried out for the ~~rshall
Committee and discusses various methods of evaluation together with the
theoretical scope of a comprehensive Highway haintenance Cost/Benefit
justification system. The practical difficulties of implementation are
outlined and a review made of what can . be achieved with current knowledge
,

Complimentary tickets for the Congress and Exhibition and copies of

the paper (one per applicant) are available on request by completing the
attached form.

-- ....

, ...

---

.-.-

..-- ...

-------------------

To: Secretary,
lhe Institution of Highway Lngineers,
3 Lygon Place, Ebury Street, London S~l
Please send me , copy of the PwC paper nCost benefits of Highway
MaintencnceH together with a complimentary ticket.
l'lAM'E

.,

ADDRESS

......................................

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(BLOCK LETTERS PLEASE)

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(rQQtion of rQljnd .. bout

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Lin~ .

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----_

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,
I
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1

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

\
l.

1978

r--

.\
lin~.

Fig. 1(.

<If

'"c::::---, ~---

'\

Crcatlon

'\

THE JOURNAL

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

channels round the outside of the roundabout and the central island channel
levels can be fixed. Ensure that the central
island kerb does not go through too great
a variation in level. Should it do so, the
crown line should be "flattened". This will
reduce the degree of variation in the kerb
line levels.
Deflection
islands
are
inevitably
surrounded by three crown lines and
should be positioned at a higher level than
any of the lines, if possible. The levels at
the corners should be determined first by
taking a gradient up from the two crown
lines opposite and creating a level which
would produce an acceptable slope in
each case (usually the average of the two
levels. but flat spots must be avoided I.
The direction of the slopes is indicated in
Figure 6. Unless the island is very large,
intermediate levels can then be calculated
by interpolation of the corner levels.
If there is no deflection island, only a
single level is required, in the centre of the
three-sided figure and this is obtained by
taking a desirable gradient up from each
~iutt, liirt::(;i;y uJ.ivuS.i& thc Ctsillfe pu~nt
and averaging as before.
The crossfall from the roundabout
crown towards the central island and
from the entry and exit crowns towards
the outer kerblines should be made about
3.33-4 per cent to provide superelevation
for turning traffic. The crossfalls between
deflection
islands or dual carriageway
central reservations and the crown lines,
however, can be between 2 per cent and
7 per cent although 3.33-4 per cent are
still to be preferred.

........l

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6 THE HIGHWAY

'10

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100

'.
ENGINEER

..
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'0.

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

.....B
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CREATION OF
CROSSFALLS
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F

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

....

Fig.6.

Fig.5.

THE JOURNAL

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

Scales
It is suggested that the horizontal layout
be. drawn to 1/250 or 1/200 scale. The
chart below shows possible long section
scales with suggested minimum radii for
channels and associated railway curves
for the distorted scales.
Minimw

Suu,uted l.Dn8
SlI!:ction Scale .

1/250 hodzonul
1/25 vnUcal

'\

1/2:00harhontal
1/20 vertical

.4,bSQlutl!l

Desinble
Vertieal
Curve Radlu.!l.

As.ad.t~d

fLaUw.y
Cunre.

MLnim:uc:l
'ierti"l
CuT'Vt:!

~d.lu.!ll.

5_

200-

1_

5_

2:iQam

I_

A.I .. odate.d
Jl.&llway
CUTVe.

"""'"
S_

Maximum desirable channel gradient

4 per cent. Absolute maximum channel
gradient
7 per cent.
To calculate vertical radii and gradients
on the crown lines, the above figures
must be multiplied by a factor, F, and F :::

where R ::: horizontal radius of crown line

and r :::.horizontal radius of channel.
e.g. if central island radius
::: 12m
if roundabout crown line radius
20m
then F
20
1.67

= =

Fig. 7 .
Final

12

For the roundabout crown line, using

11250 / 1/25 scale, then:
Minimum desirable vertical curve
radius
= 833
Associated railway curve
333

Construction
~g.

250

.-

Scal. 1/500

200

c
D

Poln. n ..mb... In comp

Chalnage. of I.rlngs m

5EAHAM SLINK-ROUNDABOUT
8 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

r programme s.rlngs are

be made synchrono ....

shown here.

LAYOUT AND CROWN LINES

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

,
A

3
2

RDl..JNDAB[)JT

CROWN

CROWN D-E
mOWN

8 C

~
a

DISTANCE

V.rtlcc.'

~~~

~i1~~~~iliiil~~S~U~~~
i~~"

CROWN F-A

Scal

"

~~~~~j88;;8m~i

.
~

11100

Horlao .. ta'1'1000

5EAHAM 5 LINK-ROUNDABOUT CROWN LINE LONG SECTION

Scol.

Fig 9

11$00
97,~'799

97.57

.~r'657

.~~~

_ -LJr.S1"< 97.ClO
1mu.

+97'''''''

+"'l'"u

r.~.'8i
I

r.~<N;

I'

.~:tr.

.1f[1

.~7'029
~'(v4
,~'a79

200

SEAHAM S LINK-ROUNDABOUT
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

Fig 10

LAYOUT SHOWING LEVELS

THE JOURNAL

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

.~

Absolute minimum vertical curve

radius
:::: 167
Associated railway curve
::::67
Maximum desirable gradient
::::6.7%
Absolute maximum gradient :::: 11.7%
As a general rule, however, the radii
used should be kept large and the
gradients kept over 0.5 per cent for as
great a distance as possible to facilitate
drainage.
Computer

"

Applications

The Crown Profile Method has been

incorporated into the MOSS suite of programmes with little difficulty although it
could equally be used in other highway
design programmes'(BIPS etcl.
Basically, a separate two-dimensional
model is created, where each crown line
is represented as a straight line in the
horizontal plane with a constant Northing,
say, and the chainage represented by the
Eastings. Vertical alignments can then be
created and a long section plot produced,
superimposing the crown tines upon each
other.
Figure 8 shows the basic layout of a
three-leg roundabout with crown lines
superimposed and Figure 9 is a-copy of a
long section plot of a separate twodimensional model showing the crown
lines. Figure 10 is a plot of the crown line
and channel levels, superimposed on the
layout. For users of the MOSS suite of

f
J
:sJ
Fig. 1T Milbumgate
in the Paper

Roundabout

Durham City, designed using the method described

programmes it is intended to bring out a

new technical note' in the near future.
References

(11 Roads in Urban Areas of the Environment.

(21 Layout

Department

of Roads in Rural Areas

Department of the Environment

(31 H2n5 Technical Memorandum on

Roundabout DeSign- Department of the
Environment Highways Directorate.
(4) The MOSS Suite of Computer Programmes - The MOSS Consortium of
three local authorities: Durham, Northamptonshire and West Sussex County
Councils.

ICELERT
STATION ~.
lcelert gives warning to grit ~
BEFORE ice begins to form.

The Icelert Weather Station is an electronic momlor mamtalnmg

a ceaseless walch for icy road conditions. incorporating Road Ice
Detector. Road Probes and an automatic telephone dialling unit.
When the road surface prObe assembly detects temperature. mOisture.
snow. frost and salt, Signals are sent back by cables to the cOlltrol Uilit
which will energlse Ihe telephone dialling unll Ii dangerous
conditions eXIst.
.
The unit will dial oullo a number of pre-selected telephone numbers.
On receipt of a ciJll. the monitor activates a recorded message
which announces the stale of the electriCIty supply. the temperature of
the load"surlace and whether It has reached the ICing danger level. the
wet 01 dry slate of the road and whether It has been salted.
Icelert reduces costs by Increasing effiCiency and eliminating
dangerous road conditions before they eXIst.

~ndlay,lrvilie

There is an Icelert system

to suit your particular
problem - take advantage of
our FREE design service.

Penicuik, Midlothian,
Scotland.
Telephone: Penicuik 72111
Telex: 727502

D~[1[JIJ!J1[]the sysfent tl1af6

10 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

West Midland Branch

Leitch at Leamington
On Monday,
May
15th.
1978,
500
delegates met at he Royal Spa Centre,
Leamington Spa, to discuss, at a one-day
Conference organised by the Institution's
West Midland Branch. the implications
and recommendations of the Repon of
the Advisory Committee on Trunk Road
Assessment. The Repon was publiShed in
January, 1978, and the Committee was
Chaired by Sir George Leitch. KCB, OBE.
who, together with three of his team, Dr.
John Prideaux, Strategic Planning Officer,
British Railways, Dr. Stephen Glaister,
London School of Economics and Political
Science and Professor
Tom Williams,
University of Southampton, and a VicePresident of the Institution.
replied to
delegates' criticisms and reactions to the
Report.
The morning session was devoted to
those reactions and delegates heard from
John Lane, Under Secretary, Depanment
of Transpon, who gave the oepanment's
reaction, Or. John Latchford, Jamieson
and Mackay, the consulting engineer's
reaction, Howard Kirby, University
of

Leeds, the academic's reaction and Mike

Hardy, Hertfordshire CC who gave the
view of the county surveyor.
The following anicle summarises the
four Papers, and d:;als with the discussion
points raised from the floor and the
replies of the Leitch Committee representa tives.
Mr Rowland
Green
(West Midland
Branch Chairmanl welcomed delegates
and was delighted that a wide-cross
section of speakers and delegates had
come to debate so important an issue as
the Report.
The Conference was officially opened
by the Institution's President, Mr Peter
Oeavin,
MC, County
Surveyor
of
Norfolk.
He said that whilst there had
been some objections to the motorway
programme
motorways
had
been
accepted as affording most good for most
people. Recently, however, doubts had
been expressed as to the justification for
some major road projects and the government were right to ask for independent

views on their appraisal methods. The

Institution had contributed evidence to
the Committee and hao commented on
the Report itself. Contrary to press reports
the Leitch Committee did not condemn
road construction, nor the Department's
methods. it merely suggested improvements in the appraisal procedure. Whilst it
was accepted that numbers could not be
put to everything, decisions must be
based on judgement - the:q'uestion was
- whose judgement? The Report contained much that was controversial and
more consultation
(and probably more
abortive work) would be required. Justice,
nevertheless, would be seen to be done.
Mr Green then introduced the Conference Chairman, Sir Stanley Yapp, former
Leader of the West Midlands MCC.
Sir Stanley invited Mr Lane to present
his Paper.
The
Department
of
Transport's
Reaction. Mr J. Lane, Under Secretary,
(Department of Transport!.
Mr Lane said that on publication of the

A crowded lecture hall listens to the first of rhf~ :;peakers on the Leitch Repon

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

THE JOURNAL

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

11

Leitch Report the Secretary of State had

welcomed it, had promised to immediately
begin to judge road schemes in the light
of the Committee's views and invited Sir
George Leitch to Chair a Standing
Advisory Committee to continue monitoring methods of scheme appraisal.
That kind of reception would normally
lead one to think that
the
Report
commended everything the Department
was doing, and, indeed, the Committee
did seem. to feel that the Department had
made a fair showing of 7 out of 10.
Perhaps their comment might have been:
'A reasonable pass mark. Could do better
if he didn't try to be too clever and jf he
brushed up a bit on his English.'
The Committee was righl; the Department had perhaps let its skills with
algebra and arithmetic run too far ahead
of assumptions, but if there was uncertainty about future oil supplies, their price,
future taxes, the growth
of national
income, population and traffic forecasts,
cost/benefit analyses. had to be treated
with caution. '
........
111e;

0"'::"

.'0t-JV1,

,~

:...+.0.
V.ff"

nil'"

'tho

,... n

-v

siderable' public distrust of the kind of

.expertise"
only
i'nteHigible to
other
experts. When taking homes away from
people to build a road it was no use
talking to their owners about "trip end
values" and "NPV over C". There was
even less sense in talking down to them.
The balance was not yet righ.t.
The Committee's great virtue was that
it blended ordinary commonsense with a
keen insight into the technical
issues
examine,~. ~':.,~, _
.
There-: were(tWo
technical
matters
arising from the Report to which the
Department was' giving priority. First it
was developing a model for car ownership
on the "causal model" basis. Obtaining
the data for a model of that kind was
difficult and the Standing Advisory Committee would be asked to help and to look
again at the further work on the Regional
Highway Traffic Model.
The Department wanted to introduce
the
"comprehensi)/e
framework"
for
appraisal as soon as possible, following
the Committee's guidelines.
Finally, there was the "small print" of
the Report, some of which existed only in
people's imagination. Nowhere did it state
that forecastin g had led to th e co nstruction of hundreds of miles of unnecessary
roads, nor did it state that industry did not
need good road communications.
It did
not say anything about the size and
content of the road programme.
On the visible and genuine' "small
print" the Department would be reasonably cautious before committing
itself to
the detailed introduction of new and to
some extent untried techniques.
The
Standing Advisory Committee would help
develop these techniques and give practical advice

was now virtually complete,

and the
future programme as outlined
in the
White Paper featured a selective approach
with priority for industrial areas, and
aimed at providing by-passes to relieve ,_.
congestion. He had considered the Com:: "':":'
mittee's recommendations in this changing situation.
Schemes in the current road programme jas outlined
in "Policy
for
Roads", 19781 were mostly of a local
nature, often in partly rural areas and of a
trunk road character more reflective of a
normal principal road, than a motorway.
The programme included a large number
. of junction
improvements
or single
carriageway schemes on A class roads
and was not dominated by motorways/or
dual 3 lane carriageway routes.
Assessment procedures should therefore be orientated towards the types of
scheme under preparation
and take
account of the wide differences in types
of facility under consideration.
The Committee's recommendations had
Peter Deavin,' the Institution's President
wide applications since they were aimed
opens the Conference. On his right, Sir
tVDiO'''' of scheme similar to orincioal
Staniey Yapp, John Li/flf!, Juhll Lilie/;road schemes whose assessment "":'as
ford
undertaken by local authorities.
public inquiry when the Preferred
Management and review of the existing
trunk road system was also vital, as were
Route and its evaluation against
alternatives was open to public
investment decisions on the level of trunk
objection.
road maintenance, road design standards
in relation to the cost of maintenance and
it was questionable whether the public
the overall network policy, inclu.ding lorry
was consulted or participated
in the
process at the right time and in the most
routes and tolls.
The loss of national resources due to
appropriate way ..
It would have been interesting for the
delay and road programme slippage, if
Committee to have traced the progression
quantified, would illustrate the importance
of typical schemes, using a case study
of the pursuit of worthwhile
highway
schemes_
approach to indicate how preliminary
surveys and assessments, further design,
The Evolution Process
optimisation and changes in assumptions
There were a number of key stages in a
and standards through time affected
scheme's evolution.
design, economic costs and benefits. The
Worth noting were:
role of public consultation could also have
tal Public consultation did not take the
been indicated.
form of public participation.
Such studies
might
illustrate
that
Ib) The announcement of the Preferred
changes due to development and optimiRoute did not until recently allow
sation of the Preferred Scheme between
holding a number of possible and'
preliminary and final design stages might
viable routes open for. detailed
be much larger than that between options
investigation during the processes'
evaluated at the preliminary design stage.
latter stages. The Report on "The
The evolution process should also be
Review of Highway Inquiry Proresponsive to three situations for an intercedures" jApril, 1978) now included
urban road scheme:
for just such a trial period.
la] The choice of two competing overIc) The public were next involved at a
all highway strategies, very different

L-2

"t

John Lane puts forward the view of central government,

Yapp, John Latchford, Howard Kirby and Mikf! Hardy

From left to right: Sir Stanley

\'

A Consultant's
Reaction.
Dr. J.e.R.
Latchford,
IJamieson
MacKay
and
Partners I said that Since consultants had
not been represented on Leitch and had
not submitted evidence he was particularly delighted to make some comments,
Context
The key national inter-urban road network

12 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

.1

AUGUST /SEPTEMBER

1978

in impact with entirely different

planning, environmental, economic
and operational characteristics. The
possible completion
time could
differ also.
[b) The choice of a route within a
corridor as illustrated by the Westfordly By-Pass mentioned in the
Report. Such a route evaluation
would fall within the envelope by
either of two alternative highway
strategies identified in [a).
(cl Below the level of route choice
within a corridor were cases of the
improvement of a junction or a
bridge within the existing highway
envelope, they occurred quite often.
The evolution process needed to be
responsible to each different type of
situation, in addition to the evolution
process public consultation and participation and the evaluation framework
would also differ.
The Committee's evaluation framework
for route choice within a corridor needed
amendment when considering the issues
involved
in the strategic
choice
of
highway corridor.
The choice of a corridor or route closely
linked public involvement and the evaluation framework.

SCHEM"E

CONSTR UCTION
COST

Involvement

An interesting current experiment in the

inter-urban field was the establishment of
a "planning shop" in the work locality.
Further public involvement experiments
could consider using local advisory committees to act as a local forum, membership could include county and district
authority
elected representatives,
and
representatives from local societies, the
Civic Trust and CPRE. Meetings could
provide the public with information on
traffic needs, options and evaluations and
further possibilities on a given scheme
could be discussed. A parallel existed in
recent urban transport studies in South
Yorkshire and Greater York.
The Committee's aim would be to
assist in reducing the time scale from
inception
to completion
and play an
important role in consultation and participation during preliminary report and "firm
programme report stages. Thus a better
understanding by the local community
leaders and greater public confidence and
awareness would complement the routine
level of working between local authority!
Department
and
formal
consultation
between Local/Central Government.
Special Themes
The Report raised a number of special
themes including those of flJel prices,
sensitivity of assumptions, and causal car
ownership models.
The longer term effects of rising fuel
prices on car ownership and use had been
emphasised and had perhaps received too
much attention. If the likely future cost of
fuel was considered in real terms, and if
the anticipated rise in GD? during this
period was taken into account, the impact
of fuel prices would be considerably
deflated. Fuel prices were only a small
component of total motoring costs.
Moggeridge or> research into the effect
of fuel price changes on car ownership

AUGUST /SEPTEMBER

1978

12.0

11.0

10.0

9.0

8.0

15.0

15.0

15.0

15.0

15.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

0.25

0.36

0.50

0.67

0.875

(m)

BENEFITS
(m)

NET PRESENT
VALUE
(m)

NPV/C
Fig.1 Sensitivity of NPV/C

ratio to variations in construction

found no significant relationship between

car ownership and petrol prices during the
fuel crisis.
During the national economic crisis 1973174 - traffic flows generally had not
risen, travel by other modes had not been
co-related to road traffic flows to ascer-'
tain if this was attributable to the crisis or
fuel costs.
Sensitivity

Public

_ The Committee undertook extensive work

on the sensitivity of assumptions on the
economic
evaluation
procedures
contained in COBA. They did not investigate
the sensitivity
of construction
costs
estimates on the resultant
economic
indices. Changes to estimated construction costs fundamentally
affected the
relationship of NPV!C, one of the main
criteria for choice. This was of concern
when
alternatives
were
in different
locations
and of different
character.
Figure 1 illustrated estimates plus or
minus 20 per cent from the mean.
Schemes A and E should be related to the
mean C; all had the same benefit level but
each provided dramatically different NPV
and N PV!C values. It would be prudent to
provide suitable ranges of construction
costs estimates and consequent ranges of
economic indices within the evaluation
framework.
Single
economic
indices
could be misleading and unhelpful in the
evaluation
since they
depended
on
construction cost.
Causal Car Ownership

Models

The validity of car ownership models had

also been considered:
(a) RHTM's car ownership method was
emerging as an innovatory tool providing accurate zonal disaggregation values at base year. It. was
doubtful
whether
car ownership
models to date could be considered
to adequately
reflect cause and
affect, they were essentially extrapolatory .
(bf Although the Committee doubted
the validity of assuming a saturation level, little data was available
on factors affecting high national
levels of car ownership. Situations
(or policies) unknown in UK were
speculation
and could only be
related to experience from overseas.
Causal car ownership models which

THE JOURNAL

cost

obviated speculation about satu ra.

tion were not within sight.
Economic

Recommendations

The Committee had recommended that

local values of time be used in the
evaluation, but if this were to be the case
schemes in less prosperous areas would
show a lower economic justification than
those in areas such as the south-east.
The scrutiny undertaken by the Department of the economic
evaluation
of
schemes had reduced the possibility of
economic
analysis
miscalculation.
Assumptions had been controlled on car
ownership and junction delays. Construction cost estimates
were
important,
together with base traffic volumes. These,
in the past, had been taken in August, the
recommended change to April should
provide greater stability in the projections
for areas unaffected by holiday traffic.
Operational

Evaluation

The Report provided no specific component of the evaluation or framework to

cover planning objectives and operational
evaluation.
The objectives and functions
of the
proposed route particularly required to be
set down considering the Department's
"selective approach" and the role of an
industrial traffic scheme or a holiday route
or for any other special function.
Its
overall planning needed to be established.
There
were
worthwhile
highway
schemes from a planning and operational
viewpoint,
for
which
economic
and
environmental
value was not
readily
apparent.
Some
by-passes,
although
producing a long detour, diverted through
traffic because it was just quicker than
using the town. However, this would
produce low economic
benefits,
but
would take through commercial vehicles
to industrial areas or could accommodate
holiday traffic. Environmental benefits of
such a by-pass might be difficult
to
quantify.

RHTM
The current status and work of RHTM
was a large subject, one which would be
fuliV aired by the Department.
Two
comments applied.
RHTM
provided
the only
national
highway traffic planning tool available to

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

13

review the whole existing trunk road

network
and
need
for
longer-term
improvements.
It had the ability
to
provide procedures for testing policy, to
show for example whether the Department's policy for selectivity of road
improvements would provide large, progressive traffic
relief and economic
benefits to the whole system or whether
fundamental
problems arose from the
new approach. It could be used to
examine possible ways of managing the
existing trunk road network, and maintenance. The effect over time of changing
assumptions of traffic characteristics and
other planning parameters might also lead
to a future highway programme review.
The initial' stage of the commercial
vehicle model had been to develop a
national interzonal commercial vehicle
movement matrix by using data from
1,000 roadside interview stations and a
matrix completion technique. This data
and mathematical procedure had enabled
a commercial
vehicle model to
be
calibrated and validated for the existing
situation. It had provided a model at a
national and to a fine zoning level which
bore good relationship to commercial
traffic counted on the roads.
There were important limitations to this
work, it could not explain commercial
traffic nature nor could it be used for
future projections. It was essential to
develop the RHTM commercial vehicle
origin/destination
model
to
examine
explanatory 'relationships of vehicle types,
haul lengths, commodity flows and landuse parameters, thus allowing a number
of possible approaches to commercial
vehicle projections to be explored.
rhe Leitch Committee Report was a
formidable review of the state of the art
and a chart for the future. In its field it
was as important as Buchanan's "Traffic
In Towns" of the early 1960s.

Ari Academic's
Reaction.
Mr H.R.
Kirby (Assistant Director of Research,
Institute
of Transport
Studies, LeeCls
University).
Mr Kirby said the Report's main recommendations 'for the trunk road appraisal
process came as no surprise to those
aware of previous key criticisms of the
transportation planning proc~ss.
Uncertainty

and Its Effects

The first recommendation

119.271 was
most significant. Transportation planners
and economists
had for
too
long
neglected uncertainties, whether those of
prediction, involving data base, modt:1
specification, parameter values, assumptions about stability of relationships and
planning forecasts, or the inherent uncert.
ainty emphasised. in the 1966 Report by
A.D. little on transportation planning in
the District of Columhia: " ... values
themselves are subject to change. This
affects not only the decisions made about
transportation
plans but also underlying
assumptions and calculations."
It was not sufficient to indicate the
likely range of uncertainties as the little
Report
again
emphasised:"
the
management of programs.in conditions of
uncertainty
should
become
the
key
concept of planning."

14 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

On the management aspect of uncertainty, the Report said little apart from
suggesting that the consequences
of
selecting different values be demonstra.
ted. Leitch had made a major contribution
to understanding COBA by undertaking
the sensitivity
analyses described
in
Appendix
D lfollowing
which
some
simplifications in COBA could be introduced).
Sensitivity.
analysis
was
a
demanding task undertaken only rarely
'. Ian example being the Roskill Commission's work). Whilst it must be feasible to
test the sensitivity of the answers by
varying one variable lor parameter) at a
time, it was impractical for the many
different combinations of variables/parameters. Yet it had the merit of recognising
that the important thing was, not what
the uncertainties in the forecasts were,
but what difference these uncertainties
made to the assessment of alternative
schemes. If sensitivity analysis was too
costly, how should uncertainty be incorporated into the appraisal process? lAnd
what if the uncertainties were so great as
to swamp the di"erences between the
schemes?! The adoption of the lower
bound of the forecasts for economic
evaluation, as the Department proposed
in its Interim Memorandum (S29), in no
way provided for it, as the possibility of
higher values was ignored. On the other
hand, if single values (in, for example, a
framework method of assessment] were
replaced by a range of values, the
decision-maker would find it difficult to
assess these appropriately
(since some
sources of uncertainty would be correlated with others!. The engineer's task
was to help the decision-maker assimilate
the host of numbers, not swamp him with
an undigested mass.
One way of tackling this problem was
to use decision tree analysis. Engineers
would then need to: (al guess probabilities for various values of variables or
parameters and [b) estimate the costs of
being wrong.
It was desirable for such studies to be
done.
The Framework
ment

Method

of

Assess-

The framework method of assessment

advocated by the Committee was a well.
known planning method (i.e. Litchfield's
planning balance sheet or Hill's goals
achievement matrix). Problems with these
methods were: (a) what items were to be
included in the assessment; (b) how they
should be presented; (c) how they could
be drawn together to give a final ranking
of schemes ..
Co~nty transport planners were already
tackling
such problems
because the
TPP/TSG system had meant they had to
determine priorities within the local transport sector. The need for rapid assessment, and the unsuitability
of conventional cost/benefit analysis for determining priorities, had led some to develop
their own merit rating systems. A review
of such methods would be useful, it could
show: (a) what steps might be taken to
avoid errors of logic such as double
counting; (bl the range of factors thought
appropriate by different counties, and
differences
in the ways they
were
weighted; (cf when and how decision-

makers were involved in determining

weights and assessing results and (d)
whether decisions were consistent with
weights and, if not, whether weights were
modified in subsequent rounds.
Similar frameworks might eventually be
adopted for both local roads and trunk
roads, so that investment proposals for
both might be compared. But it would be
a mistake to standardise practice prematurely; when different people were considering complex issues, developing and
applying individual techniques, knowledge
came from their experience and mistakes.
The
Department
and
the
Standing
Advisory
Committee
could
help this
learning process not only by providing
central advice but by: (a) encouraging (or
at least not discouraging) experimentation
with evaluation methods; lbl developing
mechanisms for learning from experience
with these new methods; lcl enabling
expert technical advice to be brought to
bear on the new methodological problems
encountered.
Practical experience with framework
methods needed to be reillieu iu li,e, theoretical
insights
into
multi-criteria
decision-making problems. The advocacy
of pairwise comparisons, (28.4 of the
Report) was, however, a rather surprising
and poorly substantiated conclusion.

Extrapolation

and Causality

The second recommendation in the Leitch

conclusions deserved comment because,
out of context, it could be misunderstood:
"The Department should as soon as is
practicable move away from the extrapolatory form of model ' .. towards
causal models."
The choice of words was unfortunate,
because the emphasis on the models was
misplaced: more important was the result
of using the models lviz. forecasts and
ultimately evaluation!. The Committee's
emphasis led to a misplaced sense of mistrust in "extrapolatory"
models and of
confidence in causal models. Whilst the
Committee used the term "extrapolatory
models" to mean simply statistical projection of time trends (19.5), extrapolation
pervaded the forecasts, including those
based on "causal" models. For example,
assumptions had to be made about the
behaviour ov~r time of model parameters:
usually this meant extrapolaticn from a
single observation (as in the assumption
of an unchanging regression coefficient!.
Not only was there extrapolation in the
parameters - there was also extrapolation in independent variables too le.g.
population forecasts and GDP projections]. Given that extrapolations existed
elsewhere in the forecasting process, it
might be adequate to extrapolate the
variable of interest
provided
this
included some appropriate policy-sensitive
response. The case for doing so was the
stronger the further ahead the forecast
and the larger the level of aggregation.
Moreover, it seemed the Committee
intended the term "causal method" to
describe something' weaker than the
cause-effect relationship the term implied:
in 19.19 they simply stated that extrapolatory methods (i.e. projection] "make
little attempt to represent explicitly causal
factors ... while causal lmethods) do."
>

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

The contrast seemed clear enough until, in the description of the German
methodology (10.5 and 10.6], one saw
that
statistical
retationships
between
traffic flow, population and GDP were
called a causal model. Gravity models too
were so described - yet they singularly
failed to reflect
factors
that
might
reasonably be held to affect destination
choice. If the German models could be
described as causal could not Tanner's
later car ownership
forecasts,
which
included price and income variables, also
be so? Proper cause-effect investigations
might require in-depth interviews to find
what factors precipitated a decision or
measurement of how a system responded
to change (preferably in a controlled
situation!.
Since the effect of the Committee's
preference for causal methods was to
ptace reliance on methods at present
based on cross-sectional analysis, .it was
appropriate to draw attention to some
remarks by Layfield: ..... it should be
noted that the main feature of the
methods used fOf travel prediction which
contributes substantially to the margin of
possible error is the reliance on the
stability of travel habits over time."
(K126!.
If all forecasts involved extrapolation
and causal models required
a time
dimension and a cause-effect relationship
that was often difficult to identify, let
alone realise as a forecasting tool, what
basis was there for selecting between
different approaches to modelling? In
Section 19.26 of the Report, the Committee asked whether forecasting methods
could answer the question: "What would
the forecast be if ... ?" This question the ability of forecasts to be sensitive to
policy changes ~ was at the root of the
Committee's
concern.
This was the
criterion against which the appropriateness of given forecasting methods was
judged. But it should also be noted that:
(al there might be forces in play stronger
than politicians could affect,
or not
quantifiable by the researcher - things
that could only readily be expressed in a
simple way as a secular trend. If they
existed it was reasonable to allow the
force of these secular trends to show
through in the forecasts by including a
time variable in the model; (b) models
should reflect the level at which policies
operated, variables of interest should be
related to policy variables only when it
was known
they were affected
by
changes in those policy variables; (cl the
policy-sensitivity of the forecasting process should be judged as a whole: (fof
example it was inappropriate to conceive
that car-ownership predictions would be
sensitive to petrol prices, whilst mileage
per hour was noo.
Forecasts were now being asked for in
different circumstances from those of a
few years ago. Instead of asking: "What
would the forecast be if ... ?" (recent
trends, policies continued I or, as Leitch
suggested: "What would the forecasts be
if ... ?" Decision-makers might, in the light
of uncertainties involved, be more concerned to know: "How much change in
the forecasts might occur under different
policy decisions?"
There might, thus, be an emphasis shift

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

from knowing the absolute value of the

forecasts to knowing the forecast change
lwhatever the absolute value). Such a
shift would
be interesting,
since
it
reduced some of the problems of dealing
with uncertainty.
However, overmuch concern with the
models, rather than their uses, risked
emphasising improvements to the model
fit to past (or commonly just presentl data
rather than to future situations. With
Layfield (K1301 " ... we do not subscribe
to the view that greater detail necessarily
means better prediction."
Comparability
An even greater uncertainty than the ones
discussed so far was also present. Should
comparisons of road investment proposals be made with rail investment proposals on a comparable basis?
The Committee
recommended
such
comparisons
only for direct road/rail
alternatives
(Rec.60l and strategic
or
policy studies of investment in road and
rail (Rec.61!.
Did a case exist for extending this to
investments at the margin in the road/ rail
sectors, even where alternatives were not
direct?
The Committee had drawn attention to
two
aspects
of
the
comparability
question; the need for consistency in (a)
measurements of non-monetary impacts
(e.g. accidents, noisel; (bl methods of
assessment.
A third aspect, not mentioned by them,
was the need to ensure consistency in
methods of estimating travel demand.
Significance

of the Leitch

Report

Overall the most significant feature of the

Leitch Committee was not so much its
findings as the need for its existence. It
was rare to find public committees set up
to scrutinise methodological issues, apart
from Roskill the only other public scrutiny
in UK had been the Layfield Committee of
Inquiry. The reason why such public
scrutinies were rare was perhaps that
methodology
was
continually
being
developed
with
interaction
between
research
and
practice
reflected
in
attempts to ensure that the official advice
was (a) using the best available current
techniques and was (b) appropriate to the
questions asked.
That, at least, was what should happen.
The Report highlighted past deficiencies
in the process. Section 4.11 pointed out
for example that forecasting and appraisal
techniques for trunk roads had lagged
behind methodology developed for the
M 1 study in 1959, and also highlighted a
number of issues that
had received
insufficient attention, such as the need to:
(al get methodology,
procedures and
rationale across to the public (18.21; (b)
examine the soundness of the modelling
techniques (18.31; (c) have a forecasting
system adaptable to local characteristics
and knowledge
(18.4);
(d) have
a
balanced appraisal system (as between
the factors expressible in monetary terms
and those
expressible
in subjective/'
qualitative terms) (18.5, 18.7!.
Particular shortcomings in the ways the
validity of the recommended procedures
had been assessed were:

THE JOURNAL

(a) lack of before-and-after studies; lbJ

lack of sensitivity analysis; lcl failure to
allow for uncertainty in prediction; (d)
lack of sensitivity of forecast in policy
variables.
,
There was a real difficulty in ensuring
that
recommended'
techniques
were
timely in that they answered the questions
being asked at the time the answers were
available. The Committee
itself
had
warned of being "continuously
on guard
against the temptation to prepare for the
last war."
The lack of timeliness might be a
reason for dissatisfaction with the procedures used; society's attitudes could
change in the time taken for appraisal to
proceed from planning to report stages.
(This had an unfair effect for it led to
techniques being criticised for not doing
jobs they were not asked to do!)
Past
deficiencies
might
reflect
inadequacies in the dialogue. between the
"actors" involved in this process, especially between those who advised on and
used recommended procedures and those
with research resources to give procedures an independent
critical scrutiny. If
the actors were ta) research workers, (b)
method advisers, (c) method users, (d)
decision-makers,
(e) public.
then the
deficient stages in the dialogue may be
(aHbl. (aHc) and (dl-(b). Opportunities
for dialogue of the kind (dHe) might have
been developed in recent years, but rarely
of the kind (bHeL
The Committee had concern for the
problem for not only did they recommend
that (a) a programme of before-and-after
studies be drawn up and implemented
(no.51; [b) scrutiny by the policy divisions
of the application of COBA should continue (No.5); and tcl the RHTM project
should be opened up to informed deu8te
(no.51 but also, they saw "a very rcal
need" for a body charged with the
following functions:
(1l. To advise on significant changes proposed in appraisal or foreca3ting
methods;
(2). To
initiate
proposals
for
such
changes; and
{3l. To recommend and make arrangements for studies in defined areas.
A Standing Advisory Committee had
now been established and was an important development. It would be useful to
know:
(1). How would the Committee perform
its fu nctions?
(21. What arrangements would be made
for feedback between users of the
techniques,
other researchers and
the public?
(31. Would the Committee be able to
commission
research and studies
directly?
(41. What were the main issues Committee members felt needed to be
tackled?
The County Surveyor's
Reaction.
Mr
M.F. Hardy, (County Surveyor, Hertfordshire CCL
As County Surveyor Mr Hardy found
himself at the interface with central
government,
locat authorities,
districts,
parish councils, MPS and the public. The
Paper would
mainly concern
public
relations.

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

15

He welcomed the Report as a comprehensive document

combining
current
ideas, practices and opportunities
for
future improvements. Cricitism that it was
all things to all men was unfair since there
was' no perfect solution to highway
problems, the business was one of compromise, balancing all viewpoints and all
relevant factors. They were in the right
direction with highway deslgn"analysis of
alternatives
and
public
consultation.
Leitch suggested accelerating that process and highlighted some present weaknesses. Although primarily based on trunk
road matters the Report had implications
for alt major road projects, and its principles could be applied across the board.
It was important to understand why road
criticism had arisen in the early 1970s and
to compare it with today's situation - it
had changed. Successful publicity and
consultation depended fundamentally on
a clear idea of those issues of direct
public concern not what engineers
thought important but what the public
regarded as critical.
in the i960s I~W cdilcjscd ths bu;lding
of a motorway and strategic trunk road
network. Long distance travelling
had
become a nightmare with the substantial
rise in private and commercial transport.
Concern arose when it became evident
that roads were having a substantial
impact on environment, landscape and
property. Road users saw their impact
and when road proposals affected them
personally particularly their property
they had a first~hand impression of the
disadvantages and arguments for the
scheme carried less and less weight.
Individual proposals were questioned on
location and sile and, increasingly, the
need to do anything at all was debated,
leading to lengthy public inquiries and
adverse publicity.
This opposition
at least promoted
rethinking on highways their need,
scale, detailed treatment and the work
required to make sure that the optimum
solution was achieved.
But the lesson had now to be learnt engineers were wiser and able to apply
new thinking. Also public attitudes were
altering again as they became aware of
present and future trends.
(a) People were not prepared to give up
personal mobility. Despite petrol price
rises the individual was still prepared
to give financial .priority to personal
transport.
(b) The lorry had given an increasing
awareness of its role in supplying vital
goods and services.
(cl The public now realised that traffic
problems would not disappear and
their solutions often involved road
building. Hertfordshire had a long list
of by-passes on strategic routes and
relief roads for town centres. There
was strong support for completing
these schemes, and the travelling
public, operators and local residents
saw no relief from traffic without
more roads.
idl Much opposition to roads was base'd
on the argument that nobody knew
how traffic wou Id grow in 10 or 20
years. But people were concerned
with current problems and wanted
current solutions.

16 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

The Impact of Different

Road Schemes

Kinds of

Experience had shown that road schemes

varied and consultation and background
information
must be adapted to suit
individual cases. Analysis and consultation was expensive in terms of costs, staff
and time. The engineer's job was to
advise on how much research and investigation was warranted in order to keep the
public informed at consultation stage and
to give decision-takers
the
relevant
information.
A real danger lay in that
analysis, examination of alternatives, consultation
and further
analyses could
become an end in themselves.
No
improvement was achieved until measures
were on the ground, whether new roads
or traffic management.
Several examples of simple by-passes
existed where a road passed through a
town or village centre, the solution lay
with a simple loop on one side or the
other. The issues were clear, the options
limited and the pros and cons easily
analysed.
There
were
important,
complex
schemes where the requirement and the
'benefits were not clear cut and options
more widespread. The M25 was a classic,
parts of it produced significant benefits to
certain towns, but traffic was attracted
over a much wider area and its impact
was more widespread,
A distinct difference existed between
urban and rural road proposals. Urban
schemes were part of a wider package
involving complementary traffic management, often it was not the road scheme
which produced concern but those parts
of the package which changed peripheral
circumstances.
Carefully considered analysis and consultation to suit a given project was
needed if time and money were to be
saved.
Impressions
Consultation
Traffic

Gained From
With The Public

Forecasts

Scepticism certainly existed about the

reliability of traffic forecasts including
assumptions made and projection techniques employed. It was not a precise
science and the suggestion that discussion should be given .to a range of possibilities was welcome.
Talking
about
ranges would not remove all the difficulties, there would be marginal cases and
traffic flows might be such that it became
debatable whether a road would be built
or not. There would also be arguments on
the correct scale of the project, whether
single two-lane, single three-lane or dual
two-lane motorway or all-purpose. Motorways presented a quite different public
image from an all-purpose road, although
it was often hard to see why. The
question of marginal cases required careful thought. not least in making the public
aware of the possibility and implications
of a second and later' improvement.
People were disturbed and annoyed at the
consequences of a second bite when, for
example, maintenance
took place on
overloaded roads and traffic was widely
diverted.
CapacitY standards were being revised,

and more traffic was being put on to less

road. There should be no illusions about
the difficulties of maintaining or enlarging
these roads as traffic grew towards
design capacity.
Public concern also focussed on the
uncertainty
of future
fuel resources,
people felt that scarcity of fuel would
mean less traffic. Eventually they would
have to decide where transport ranked in
the prioritY list in a world of restricted oil
supply
this would be a political
decision.
Traffic

Assignments

Little understanding existed of time and

cost assignments, why they might give
different results or how they were sensitive to assumptions about the use of
existing routes in the future. HowEl,ver
these were some of the fundamental
factors in deciding the need and location
for a new road.
Road planning, building and management and maintenance were aimed at
obtaining a satisfactory hierarchy of roads
50 tho! coch !eve! dk~ its job prop'.?r!y anrl
achieved the appropriate traffic, environmental and safety standards.
This was not a "free for all" assignment, either in time or cost terms, the
public would expect engineers to have
considered'standards
and conditions on
all the roads affected by the proposals.
The Leitch tYpe framework dealt with this
but it could involve building-in restraints
on existing roads which might be justified
on environmental and safety grounds but
not those of traffic. There was a need for
a package deal of traffic management on
existing roads coupled with proposals for
new roads.
Monitoring
Monitoring was important in indicating
how forecasts had been realised, beforeand-after studies were part of the same
process where room existed for substantial improvement. The public could understand and accept statistics related to
actual examples with which they were
familiar.
In Hertfordshire
part of the A 10
Hoddesdon/Ware
By-Pass
now
had
22,500
vehicle/day
which
otherwise
would
use the existing A 10 passing
practically continuously through' built-up
areas. There had been a drop of 77 per
cent in accidents in that corridor.
PresentCltion

of Information

The professional's job was to collect data,

analyse and forecast, examine feasible
alternatives and present information to
the public and decision-makers in a form
which meant that not only the results but
also the assumptions
on which
the
analysis was made were understood. This
had perhaps been at the root of past
problems and damaged the engineer's
image.
The impression that engineers and
engineering departments were dedicated
to building roads for their own sake was
held by some. This was a nonsense. What
had to be emphasised was that we were
all basically on the same side, interested
only in trying to solve difficult problems.
There
was,
however,
no perfect

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

solution. Would the public accept present

circumstances or those likely to exist in
the foreseeable future? If not what
alternative
measures presented themselves to overcome some of the difficu Ities?
With
the
disadvantages
of
new
measures did the public and elected
representatives think the advantages such
that some action should be put in hand
rather than that nothing be done?
Too often the argument had gone in
the reverse direction - putting forward
proposals, fighting a rearguard action and
then ending up by spelling out presentday problems.
Hertfordshire had conducted an exercise of indicating traffic overload/environmental damage/accident
situations on
lengths of strategic route network and
providing
publicity
for
the findings.
People could then see the difficulties
quantified and make comparisons from
personal knowledge of the difficulties and
the professionals' impression based on
statistical analysis.
It was worth
spending money on
presentation, manning exhibitions, and
meeting people of a calibre capable 'of
explaining the thinking behind proposals,
listening to comments and replying in a
knowledgeable way. A series of twodimensional engineering drawings were
incomprehensible to most people, visual
aid must be used and engineers must
have more personal contact with the
public.
This contact did not stop when a
decision was reached and construction
started. The time between decision and
commencement coupled with the early
part of construction itself was vital from
the viewpoint of people directly affected.
The engineer had an important public
relations duty during that period.

The Framework
for Analysis
The Incidence Groups

Mr Hardy supported the idea of a framework for analysis. Herdordshire

had
employed this technique for some time
though it differed in form and degree of
detail from Leitch. There seemed to be
three distinct but inter-related purposes of
the framework: (1l To obtain a more
positive, systematic
approach
to the
analysis - a discipline for professional
people involved
in consultation
and
advising decision-makers;
(21 to pass
understandable information to the public
to help it reach conclusions on need and
relative merits of alternatives; and (3) to
obtain feedback from the public in a form
which, when combined with basic information, enabled government to reach the
right decision.
Distinct progress could be made with
(11 and (2) but he doubted whether the
framework
and incidence group idea
would make decision-taking easier. The
reverse might be the case for
the
following reasons:
[a) More and more relevant factors
were being listed - some ana lysed
on a "numerical basis" - others on
subjective ranking. There was little
chance,
fortunately,
of
having
everything on a quantified basis.
Here we were talking about sub-

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

iective weighting
between items
listed in the framework, in the end
quite possibly political decisions,
though "political"
with a small
"p.l.
(bl People arid groups would not react
in the neat "incidence"
packages
described in the framework,
the
response from some groups would
be stro nger
tha n ot hers. For
example
"road
users
directly
affected" rarely commented whereas "non-users
directly affected"
invariably did. Those concerned
with the intrir.;;ic value of the area
might also be directly affected and
use either or both headings in these
arguments.
Council would be concerned and
influenced by most, if not all, the
groups and their response might
well be influenced by particular
factors or groups.
(c) Reactions would be obtained in an
environment where publicity was
given to the objections and objectors - that was unlikely to change.
[dl The question of local consultative
groups considering issues and alternatives prior to selection of a preferred solution had been raised. In
Mr Hardy's experience a consultative committee with representatives
from voluntary bodies, local associations and action groups did not
guarantee a concensus of opinion
on a preferred solution or the pros
and cons of alternatives. Individuals
representing
these groups were
rarely able to compromise. They
had clear terms of reference to
safeguard, and were right to do so,
but it led to a failure of the
approach.

The Time Span of Research, Analysis,

Design, Consultation
and DecisionTaking
Delegates would share concern about the
current time scale for road procedures
even with present practices. The Leitch
principles were unlikely to shorten the
time for reaching decisions, and, more
important for overcoming problems, the
reverse was likely. Those determined to
stop major road building
or halt a
particular scheme would make use of the
Leitch principle and methods to achieve
this, as they were perfectly entitled to do.
But others were also involved in this
process:
(al Those detrimentally affected by the
current
situation
.i.e.
directly
affected.
(bl Those concerned because uncertainty on alternative solutions had
produced
widespread
potential
blight.
(cl Those concerned with land use,
and problems of locating housing
and industry.
[dl Road users, private, commercial
and industrial subjected to increasing delays ..
The system had also to protect their
interests and many would wish to see
quick decisions and quick. action.
A
so-called typical preparation and construction
sequence for a trunk
road

THE JOURNAL

scheme in the recent White

Paper
spanned 10 years. Some schemes had
certainly taken this long, Mr Hardy hoped
it would not be accepted as the standard
minimum.
The majority of the public would be
prepared to accept that the process could
and should be completed in much less
time, even with less time it was possible
to give proper attention to examination of
need and alternatives, public consultation
and decision-making.
The time span involved two (perhaps
morel central government
administrations, three or more at local level and that
led to complications and problems of
continuity of thought and knowledge. It
should be possible for central or local
authorities to stipulate at the outset the
procedures and time scale proposed - a
time
scale which
took
account
of
complexity and project size and adhered

to it.
The Leitch Report was an excellent
piece of work. To stand back, look at
some of the main issues, trends and
problems, and how they might influence
the future, was an essential exercise in
order to avoid recent difficulties.

Sir Stanley Yapp invited Sir George

Leitch and his team to reply to the
earlier speakers
Sir George expressed the Committee's
general gratification at the reception given
to the Report. It had certainly not been
left to gather dust in a pigeon-hole. In
view of the variety of interests the
Committee had formed the clear view
very early on that, even had they been so
disposed, any attempt to please any
particular interest, let alone all interests,
had nothing
to
recommend
it. The
Committee
had reported faithfully
on
what it had found and said exactly what it
thought. It was a good thing for any large
organisation to have a disinterested body
taking an objective view. The main value
of the Report would show in the selfquesting it generated. The Committee had
been disbanded
lor some time and
members present would express opinions
as private individuals. Apart from appointing the Chairman the Secretary of State
had still to nominate members of the
Standing Advisory Committee.
Referring to Dr. Latchford's
remarks
about the costs of schemes he said that
the Committee had examined available
data on actual capital costs in relation to
estimates at the later planning stages. The
Department's performance was reasonably good on average. He saw, however,
an increasing need to look at costs more
widely and in particular the liability for
future maintenance. A scheme had to be
judged in relation to overall "life cycle"
costs and not just initial capital costs.
He emphasised the importance of the
interface between national and local programmes and the need for compatibility.
and consistency. He agreed with Mr Kirby
that an important feature of any traffic
forecasting model was its ability to assist
the assessment of the implications
of
proposed changes in policy.
The long gestation period for projects
had worried the Committee and it had
taken a hard look at possible ways of

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

17

shortening the process by simplifying

methods. It had reluctantly concluded
that no major overall simplification was
feasible at present and what was required
initially was improved understanding and
consultation on the lines proposed. This
could itself result in some reduction in
delays but one could not be certain. There
would need to be a continuing search for
ways of administrative streamlining.
Dr Prideaux said the framework for
decisions was at the core of the problem,
the relevant professionals in a scheme
were there to advise neit pre-empt
decisions. Any critical value judgements
they made should be kept in the open
with
the object of satisfying
public
concern rather than tying down a safety
value.
He disagreed that more public involvement would lead necessarily to extra work
and longer construction time.
Referring to the five main framework
groups he drew attention to the inclusion
of planning effects within the fourth
group - those indirectly affected. Planning interest had been taken into account
and the Report commented on the effect
of economic growth and land-use. There
seemed to be confusion
about
the
Committee's intention in listing views of
the appropriate local authority planning
departments in the framework under landuse planning effects. The framework
should be restricted as far as possible to
results of objective evaluations for various
factors. In the absence of an evaluation
tool for land-use implications, the professional views of officers on this specific
issue should be sought as the best
available. Local authorities' overall preferences for route choice would
be
inappropriate at this Roint. Any views
they wished to make on overall choicerequired them to consider all the factors
listed in the framework.
The framework for decision within the
Report was an exemplary one and not
final, the ingenuity, drive and confidence
of engineers would lead to improvements
and refinements.
Dr Glaister endorsed Dr. Latchford's
emphasis on the importance of giving due
attention to the evaluation of maintenance activities and small schemes, like
local junction improvements, as well as to
the large scale schemes. The public
perhaps did not share this view. He
agre'ld that relatively small design variations could have far-reaching effects on
overall scheme. evaluations and they
therefore merited careful investigation.
The Committee's view was that the
general
principles
for
evaluation
recommended in the Report should be
used in the future whatever the nature of
the scheme and whatever method of forecasting was used. The detailed design of
more options should be carried through to
a later stage.
COBA he saw . as being relatively
. straightforward
to use, although it was
founded on a large and complex literature.
Sorrie
further
simplification
would
certainly be desirable, although it was not
clear at present how this could best be
achieved.
On construction costs, and the variation between predicted and'actual costs, it
was in the nature of uncertainty that

18 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

mistakes would occur. As with economic

evaluation, there was a substantial literature on the management of uncertainty.
Some thought should therefore be given
to the development of workable procedures for responding to the problem, as
successfully as had been done with
COBA. The two critical' considerations
were likely to be the probabilities of the
various possibilities occurring and the
costs of making particular choices should
they turn out to have been incorrect.
In his opinion the properties of models
used were just as important as the data
used to estimate them. It was always
important to make the best use of all the
available data. Both time-series and crosssections methods had a part to play in
modelling car ownership. The use of
cross-section data alone would make it
impossible to evaluate the effect of fuel
price changes. The RHTM car ownership
sub-model was an example of a simplified
but commendable attempt to understand
the economic and social forces which
"caused" households to own cars.
Professor
Williams
said that the
public were suspicious of the abilities and
intentions
of
highway
engineers
to
adequately identify and assess quantities
and qualitative issues; this was obvious
from debates and public inquiries. The
pendulum of assessment could easily
swing too far in either direction; a main
objective should be to obtain acceptable
balance in the assessment procedures. He
supported Mr Lane's plea for caution, but
submitted that courage was also required
to continue the development and application of relevant techniques in practice.
In reply to Dr. Latchford and Dr. Kirby,
Professor Williams agreed that constructioll costs and causal traffic models were
of
considerable
significance.
Whilst
further
analyses and research
were
required on those items, he reminded the
authors that the Advisory Committee did
not conclude that the work they proposed
would result in easing the burden on the
engineers. The use of RHTM as a
planning tool should be encouraged, with
adequate safeguards for the integration of
local inputs with the basic national
systems of zones and network adopted
for the model. The .Commercial Vehicle
Sub-Model
appeared to be deficient
because of data difficulties. Management
procedures in all sectors of highway and
traffic engineering work were of growing
importance, future activities should reflect
that fa ct.
Referring to Mr Hardy's Paper Professor Williams wholeheartedly agreed that
good communications
between professionals concerned with highway planning
and design and the public were of vital
importance. If adequate communication
was not a~hieved, it vJOuld have damaging effects on the highway construction
industries as a whole. He believed that the
aim should
be to ensure adequate
resources for those industries to construct
the "right roads in the right place and the
right. time"
and give good value for
money. He was interested to learn of the
favourable "wind 0f change" sign in
public attitudes towards by-pass construction in Mr Hardy's county; such
trends should be encouraged.

Discussion
1. The Leitch
Comments

Report

General

Mr R.H. Phillipson (British Road Federationl said that from Mr Hardy's comments it was clear highway engineers
"were not bashing about building roads."
He was also glad to hear Mr Lane say that
Leitch was not Government policy
contrary to impressions given at its
launching.
Traffic forecasts lay at the core of
assessment, and no prO(lf existed that
causal models were more reliable ethan
extrapolatory ones. Current Department
forecasting seemed to be biased to low
figu res. The use of the bottom of a
supposed range of forecasts for economic
assessments depressed rates of retu rn
and must affect physical plans. This
meant experts were feeding to decisionmakers information
which
they con-

sldeied pulitically acceptable

on the basis

that ministers were disposed to adopt the

lowest possible provision.
Evaluation had not been mentioned but
employment
gains as well as losses
should be considered. On comparability it
was extremely difficult to make direct
comparison between road and rail investment. If this were possible then the technique could be extended into other fields
of public expenditure.
Mr Lane agreed that Leitch was not, in
itself, a statement of policy, but Paragraph 78 of the White Paper said: "From
now on no scheme will be published or go
to Inquiry unless it accords with the principles set out, in the light of the recommendations of the Leitch Committee, in
this White Paper." Paragraph 38. stated
that: "the Department is studying the
Committee's recommendations and will
put them into effect wherever they would
lead to an improvement
in current
practices. "
Dr. D.J. Van Rest IUniversity of Aston)
asked why the Committee had not made
an explicit conclusion or recommendation
on the part played by roads in industrial
growth?
Referring
to comments
on
increased timescale he mentioned the
Bridge ByPass scheme where, following
public outcry, the ByPass was built three
years later. Engineers should consider the
kind of road the public wanted rather than
those they wished to build. ThecHertfordshire TPP seemed fairly sensible but at
current expenditure rates it would be
25-50 years before some listed schemes
were built, although their total cost was a
fraction of that for M25 in the county.
The idea of providing near perfect
driving conditions
was an impossible
dream.
Sir George Leitch said that the Committee had not undertaken any research
of its own into the effects of new roads
on regional development but had made a
fairly thorough survey of the existing
literature on the subject. He drew Dr. Van
Rest's attention to the recommendation
that "The effects of trunk road construction on regional economic development
should be included in the assessment only

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

!\

when strong evidence can be adduced to

support them."
Mr A.D.W. Smith (Kent CCI refuted Dr.
Van Rest's suggestion that public protests
had accelerated construction
of Bridge
By-Pass. The scheme had been included
in the 1969 Preparation Pool and opened
in 1976. Protests had come during the
period of statutory processes but had not
influenced the timing of the scheme.
Mr C. Milner
(Midland Road Development Groupl said th~lt political implications and political resources for building
or not building had been glossed over. It
was a scandal that, out of 50 major
schemes under construction in England,
only one (Ludlow By-Passl was in the
West Midlands.
Mr W.E.
Gallagher
(Midland
RCUI
believed, on average, that estimates were
right, although these varied on particular
schemes. When such variation occurred it
was probable that the original estimate
was a better measure than the final cost
of the real resources of a county absorbed
in the scheme. Money was a mechanism
for getting work done.
On the Swaffham By-Pass, quoted in
the Report, 25 different COBA assessments were shown for a scheme three
miles long, he questioned if that was not
over-doing it.
He referred to Dr. Prideaux's explanation of why the Committee included local
authority views in the framework under
land-use planning effects. He did not
think this explanation would be accepted
by local authority associations. Planning
officers would not allow the Department
to publish their professional views on
land-use implications without first clearing
them with their elected members.
The
framework
might
provide
a
mechanism for allowing local authorities
to contribute
towards
the
cost
of
amending a trunk road scheme to fit in
with particular requirements
or for
providing compensation to an authority
when a scheme obliterated a particular
planning potential.
He stressed the need to train engineers
on the new thinking and implications of
Leitch. The job was more difficult than
first appeared.

Discussion

2.

Traffic. Transportation
Models

and Synthetic

Mr C.H. Abbey iLeicestershire CCI said

that in "before-and-after"
studies the
Table in the Report revealed 200 per cent
errors in predictions. There was a need to
look at answers as well as analytical
calculations.
Mr R.M. Newland
(Transport Planning.
Consultantl felt that the Report had overemphasised "uncertainty",
for instance
uncertain fuel prices. High petrol prices
would stimulate vehicle efficiency. MotOr
manufacturers expected a 60 per cent
improvement in fuel consumption which
would spread through the vehicle fleet by
1995. What now seemed a pessimistic
petrol price assumption
might be an

AUGUST /SEPTEMBER

1978

effective reduction in the cost of fuel for

the same distance. This would be of great
importance in causal modelling.
Mr R.J. Duffell
(Hatfield Polytechnic)
said little attention had been given to car
usage of which only 25 per cent at best
could be explained by fuel (money) prices.
He illustrated the spread of values of
changes in the "car flow index" compared with "real personal disposable
income" changes urging engineers to be
cautious in expecting causal models to be
the panacea of forecasting. Unless linked
to congested holiday areas, or National
Parks, holiday and pleasure motoring was
seldom mentioned in TPPs. The Report
distinguished between leisure and work
journeys, holiday areas and non-holiday
areas, but there were urban fringe areas
where weekend peaks were caused by
leisure traffic.
This facet was more
sensitive to fuel prices as exemplified by
July Sunday flows
which
took
the
greatest knock from increased fuel prices
post 1973. He believed Miles at TRRL had
some evidence of a value for non-working
time of 5Op/hour time (1971) prices based
on his researches at Goyt Valley using the
consumers' surplus concept; in short, in
areas where pleasure motoring featured
significantly benefits were being undervalued by perhaps 100 per cent as nonworking time could be 50 - not 25 - per
cent of working time valuations.
Mr V.E. Jones (Hereford and Worcester
CCI advised against the use of weightings
in non-quantifiable elements in assessing
merits
of competing
schemes.
This
applied a veneer of scientific objectivity
subjectively
misleading.
He welcomed
upgrading
accident costs, a relatively
minor factor in benefits attributable
to
major schemes, but in non-key schemes it
could produce a substantial rate of return
for relatively low capital outlay. This
element
of
Leitch
was
particularly
welcome. He made a plea for more critical
examination of COBA inputs and cost/
benefit analysis and a more rigorous
examination of base-year data. Current
discussions
on an extension
of the
national traffic censuses were welcome.
Dr. Van Rest speaking on behalf of a
student at the University raised the issue
of historic towns and the adverse effect
of COBA in the evaluation of bypass
schemes.
There was a tremendous impact on
environmental relief but little time savings
by taking a circular route around a Roman
town, large financial sums were attached
to time savings, Leitch had not taken this
further forward.
Mr C.R. Cameron
(Warwickshire
eCI
thought too much emphasis was placed
on the aggregation of small savings in
time and considered the value of environmental disbenefits greater in importance
than like disbenefits. A good data base
was another requisite with more emphasis
on existing traffic, the effects of which
could be evaluated accurately.
Mr J.S. Heys (West Glamorgan CCI felt
that when comparing choice of route for
corridor movements
in a valley time-

THE JOURNAL

savings became
less significant
environmental benefits greater.

and

Mr Kirby agreed with Mr Jones on the

importance of a good data base from
which projections of future traffic conditions could be made. He stressed the
desirability of measurements to assess
speed trends, a hitherto neglected area.
Dr. Glaister said that with regard to small
time savings, one argument was that it
was not, say, one-tenth of a second saved
by any particular individual that was
relevant. There was an increased probability that somewhere in the aggregate
population of road users, there would be
an individual who would be enabled io
und erta ke an extra activity.

Discussion
Framework,

3.
Plus Road versus

Rail

Mr A.S. Hearne (University of Aston)

argued that impact upon business activities should be appraised economically.
For agriculture, simple-to-operate
techniques were available to predict income
loss. Such information was of far greater
value than the data provided by the
agricultural and land classification.
Mr J.E. Acton (Midland RCUl described
the RCU's approach to the assessment
framework when consulting
the public
about alternative routes. Referring to a
consultation which began less than a
month atter the publication of the Report
he illustrated a number of departures from
the example framework. The RCU had
not included numbers of casualties saved,
but in future these would probably be
quoted in addition to the present value of
accident savings because they were more
readily
understood
by
laymen.
He
commented on two particular difficulties:
the assessment
of cost
saving
for
pedestrians and the comparison of farm
severance on alternative routes.
Mr J.W. Seel iL.G. Mouchel & Partners)
expressed concern about the considerable
number of noise calculations required for
complex urban areas in finding which
facsdes would receive 5, 10. 15 dB(AI etc
above
ambient
noise level,
as the
Committee had proposed. He suggested
that finding those affected by only an
additional 5 dB(A) or by, say. 60 dBlA)
would be adequate.
Mr
M.D.
Bolton
(W.S.
Atkins
&
Partners) said the framework was very
complex from the public's point of view,
yet over-simplification had to be avoided.
He showed a slide which illustrated the
planning
study
process with
criteria
tabulated by reference to their effect on
various interest groups both inside and
outside the corridor. Instead of demonstrating only differences in impact the
method should ensure a clear understanding of the positive aims and objectives
achieved by the scheme.
Mr D.J. Dyke iDepartment of Transport)
as a landscape architect welcomed consideration given to visual intrusion, and
that non-quantifiable would now be con-

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

19

sidered alongside quantifiable.

In public
presentations it was helpful to convey the
three-dimenSional
form of proposals by
the use of photomontages. Maps showing
"visual envelopes"
had most value in
making broad comparisons between alternative routes. Assessments of landscape
quality tended to be treated as an end in
themselves, whereas, it was more important to understand what was characteristic
of a landscape and how it would
be
affected by a road.
Mr L.H. Watkins lTRRLI showed film of
studies using a travelling "matte", a way
of superimposing cinefilm to indicate the
road's appearance from various viewpoints after construction. Using air pollution as an example he pointed to the
absence from the Report of any new
guidance on criteria or standards.
Mr D.L Barry
(Atkins Research and
Development!
said that environmental
analysis should play an early role in alternative route selection since it would, be
easy to show that a particular alignment,
chosen
principally
on
engineering
grounds, was environmentally
"better"
than
other
options.
The
Report's
abandonment of the myth that changes
of upt03 dB(A) were not significant was
welcomed although the real effect of such
changes was not stated. Research had
shown that in the, say, 50-70 dS(A) range
a reduction of 3 dS(A) corresponded to a
reduction of about eight to 10 in the
percentage of people expressing annoyance.
Mr
J.D.
Ireson
[Warwickshire
CCl
regarded the evaluation process as an
excuse for having insufficient money to
spend in the first place. The TPP process
shared out cash in one way, and he
suggested the responsible engineer be
given the freedom to spend money as he
wished within a budget. He questioned
the stability of base planning statistics
and wondered whether it haq been a
deliberate decision to abandon the 1976
census? He endorsed the concept of a
functional road hierarchy as the basis for
evaluating corridor benefits, particularly
for urban area schemes.
Mr A.D. Roo"ney (Highwi;lYs Department,
South Australia. CSI Overseas Scholar
attached
to R. Travers Morgan
and
Partners) referred to a National Association of Australian State Road Authorities
Committee
which
had
reported
on
environmental
studies, research, public
involvement and evaluation of environmental factors within project analysis. It
had examined many ways of approaching
the problem of evaluation and concluded
thilt,
for the immediately
foreseeable
future, no acceptable method existed to
formalise the decision-making process. It
recommended the use of a basic framework with a main summary Table, similar
to that recommended
by Leitch. The
salient point was that two totally independent groups of people, 12,000 miles apart,
confront~d by the same task, had reached
similar' conclusions.
Dr. Prideaux
said a problem
arose
because
non-user
benefits
were
not

20 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

expressed in monetary terms. This had led

to the Committee recommending il framework for appraisal. The economic effect
on agriculture was taken into account in
compensation
value (included in initial
cost! and injurious affection (which could
not be valued). On the weighting
of
specific effects, he stressed that the
Report had come out against any system
of analysis that incorporated
predete"rmined weights.
Environmental
factors
should be taken into consideration at a
very early stage. The Jefferson Report
suggested that air pollution should be
taken into account for all schemes, but a
large number
of different
pollutants
existed and since wind effects varied considerably engineers should be selective in
their assessments,
On the criticism that it was possible to
prefer A to S, S to C and C to A, he
considered this to be not a problem
associated with the use of a framework.
The problem could arise in any committee
taking a vote.
Professur
y"v.Hiil'-'-lb cOITiiT.e"ted that rv~i
Seel had highlighted
particular
issues
which should be included in the pollution
aspects of environmental
assessments
where research proved them feasible. The
Department-should
give urgent attention
to the provision of guidelines for practitioners in that field.

Mr G. Kirkbride
[Fife Regional Council)
commented on the number of academics
who had spoken and said that the future
job of engineers was to transmit information given today in terms the public could
understand. This could well save a year in
the "league" time of trunk road preparation.
Discussion

4.

Public Consultation
Relations

and Public

Mr P.LB. Mynors
(R. Travers Morgan
and Partners) spoke on the "planning
shop" system used experimentally by his
firm earlier this year to carry out public
consultation
in Leicester, prior to consideration of specific schemes. They had
put out notices to the media saying "We
are gOing to plan a trunk road - come
and talk to us" and 600 people had dGne
so in a five week period. This was a
valuable addition to the usual method of
putting up alternative schemes at a later
stage in the study.
Mr P. Mesner
[West Glamorgan CC)
said that the present system was satisfactory for the vast majority of schemes,
there should be reliance on feedback from
public consultation in deciding whether a
full Leitch procedure should be adopted.
Mr L. Stretch
(M42 Support
Group)
referred to his Papel. handed to delegates
at the door. His Group welcomed Leitch
but thought
that further progress was
urgently needed. The strategic network
was not complete, serious gaps existed in
the Midlands. consideration
should
be
given to routes with a high proportion of
commercial
traffic,
because
of
its
economic importance and its effect on

other traffic. The public expected decent

communications,
based
on
sound,
accountable, professional judgement, this
demanded a comprehensive mathematical
system of assessment, not rhetoric.

Mr E.P. Hinkley [West Sussex eCI said

that one of the most important points the
Standing Committee should consider was
whether "new" systems produced better
decisions than past ones. If not, the
sooner it said so the better. Until the
desk-top
studies were translated
into
reality on the ground all of the accident,
economic
and environmental
benefits
remained on paper only and were worthless.

Mr
P.L
Sully
(Greater
Manchester
Councill said that whilst Leitch marked a
major watershed in transportation
evaluation there were further major problems
to be solved - for example, the balance
between
local and national
highway
expenditures, between hlgnwilY illlU I,,;i
improvements and even between improving the system and maintaining
it including the difficult question of revenue
support to public transport. These were
already
being
examined
by
various
authorities and groups, ohen unknown to
others working on the same subject. He
considered it essential for the Department
to undertake a co-ordination role In this
field to mini mise abortive or duplicated
work.

Professor Williams said that the Report

of the Advisory Committee had indicated
the rules for the debates between the
public and the professionals concerned
with highways and traffic, it remained to
be seen whether the participants would
make constructive or destructive use of
them.

Sir Stanley Yapp thanked all those who

had taken part in what had been a most
useful Conference and invited Mr Oeavin
to sum up.
The President said that the Leitch
Report would affect all their lives in the
immediate future and for some time to
come. Public participation
was nothing
new, and generally highway engineers
had been engaged in consulta tion processes for many years. He was sure
county surveyors would take note of the
Committee's
recommendations
in the
preparation of county schemes although
floating too many alternatives might result
in more blight.
He thanked the West Midland Branch
and Mr A.N. Brant for organ/sing the
Conference and Sir Stanley Yapp for the
excellent
way he had Chaired
the
meeting.

* Democratic

Government: Informing
Measuring Public Opinion Accurately

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

and

1978

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_

Decisions Under Risk and Uncertainty

R.J. Bridle, BSc, FICE, FIMunE. FIHE
The Institution's Publications Committee
felt that the requirement to deal explicitly
with risk and uncertainty
in making
decisions is becoming important in the
assessment of highwav investments.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr
R.J. Bridle, therefore undertook to prepare the following note of the principles
involved together with a verv simple
example to explain the procedures.

natures decisions as low down the tree as

is logical so that as much information as
possible is available before the manager
has to take a decision.

RISK AND UNCERTAINTY

One element is clearly missing. The tree
illustrates what decisions need to be
taken but the criteria for those decisions
has not yet been explored.

(al
Decision trees are used to assist in
making decisions whenever one is faced
with choosing a course of action from
amongst a number of alternatives.
Decision tree diagrams illustrate pictorially the decision-making
process. They
are similar to flow diagrams but are unlike
in that closed loops are not possible and
the diagram is, therefore, not a network.
In constructing trees each branch junction
represents a decision to be made.
Decisions may be of two kinds:(al Those taken by the organisation.
jb) Those taken by others or by nature.

A DECISION BY ORGANISATION

YES

NO

All decisions may be evaluated by a

single number when the outcome can be
objectively stated. Once gain becomes the
objective
money can be used. Cost/
benefit techniques allow money to be
used as a proxy to measure benefits not
offered in the market.
However, the result of a decision may
seldom
be forecasted 'with
absolute
certainty.
If the probability of a number of outcomes can be determined
then the
"value" of a particular decision may be
computed so that it may be compared
with others. This is called Risk.
For example:The probability of a coin coming to rest
with its head face up is 50 per cent. If 1
is bet on the result of one toss being a
head the odds are evens so 1 could be
lost or 1 could be won. Over a number of
outcomes the risk of losing would be nil.
i.e.
- 50

+50
(bl
A DECISION BY NATURE

DRAWING THE TREE

Conventionally.
in drawing
the tree,
decisions of the first kind are represented
by diamonds and the second by ovals as
shown in Figure 1.
These may be put together in combinations, each decision summating
into
others as the tree is climbed until a single
decision remains to be determined at the
top of the tree as shown in Figure 2.
In structuring the diagram an attempt
should be made to keep ja) decisions as
low down the tree as possible while (b)

If on the 'other hand a weighted coin

was used and it was found that in 100
throws 40 fell heads and 60 fell tails the
chance of a gain on the result of one
throw being a head would be 40 per cent
and on a loss 60 per cent. The risk is:60 per cent chance of a gain of -1 ::;:

Does the equipment

need repair?

YES

NO

40 per cent chance of a gain of

-60p
+ 1
40p

Fig. 1 Representing decisions

-20p

Fig.2 Further decisions in decision tree fOfm

If the choice to call "tails" is also given

then the risk is:60 per cent chance of a gain of 1 ::;:

Does the equipment

need repair?

40 per cent chance of a gain of

YES

60p
-1 ::;:
-4Op

NO

+20p

YES

NO

The choice of a tail is, therefore, the

better decision but in any event it must be
remembered that a loss could occur. Also
suppose there is a 40 per cent chance of a
gain of -1.0
::;:-0.4

YES

Can equipment
be replaced?
YES

NO

YES

NO

NO

While there is a 60 per cent chance

gain of
0.6

of a

::;: 0.36

YES
Then that particular decision is worth-O.04

If an alternative route in a decision tree

(supposing there are only two) shows:
a 60 per cent chance of a gain of -0.5

22 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

:!
I

::: - 0.3

(2) Table of net gains for various decision

paths.

and a 40 per cent chance of a gain of

+ 0.8 :::

+ 0.32

Then that decision is worth

+0.02

EXAM PLE
I am considering buying a house for
which
the present
owner
is asking
36,000. The house was built before the
war and I am afraid that it may need some
major repairs.
I know a reliable surveyor who would
give an accurate estimate of repair. His
fee would be 180. He would need two
weeks to carry out the task during which

and one may conclude that it is bener to

take the second decision rather than the
first. This calculation is illustrated
in
Figure 4 of the example.
However, sometimes the risk of alternative outcomes are not calculable. This
condition is called Uncertainty.
Never.
theless, even under uncertainty decisionmakers are prepared to assign risks. This
assignment is generally tempered by the
nature of the outcome. If a possible
outcome is catastrophic then even if the
probabilities are calculable people may
not be prepared to accept decision.
making on the basis described and will
wish to modify the odds to weight against
the catastrophe.
Suppose in our previous example we
consider wagering on the toss of a coin
where we knew the odds to be even.
Whilst we would accept a toss of the coin
against a bet of a few pence it would
require rather bener odds to induce us to
bet a months salary and even bener odds
if we were to bet a years salary. This
relationship
varies
between
various
personalities and is called the risk/utility
relationship.
For most commercial managers the risk
is unlikely to be weighted for decisions
involving sums up to 5 per cent of total
assets. If no probabilities are calculable
then even odds would be the correct
asse~sment in the absence of any other
knowledge but each person will draw on
his own risk/utility
relationship in the
decision-making either to set the odds or
to modify the calculated probabilities.
In order to illustrate the use of these
concepts the following example has been
devised to show how the decision tree is
set out to give:.
(1f List
of decisions
taken
by the
manager or nature with risk assigned.
Date

losS

Capital
Fig.3 Risk & utility
time the house
might
be sold to
someone else.
I have talked to the surveyor and concluded, rightly or wrongly (but I have no
other datal. that for houses of this type;(al Only about two out of five have no
significant repair bills.
(bl The repairs for another two are minor
at a cost of about 600 average.
(clOne
house in five can require reatly
serious repair with a bill around the 3,000
mark.
Armed with this information I see the
house agent and ask about a two week
option on the house. This will cost me
360, which will be deducted from the
purchase price if I buy it, but which will
not be refundable if I do not.
I guess that the chances that the house
will be sold to someone else if I do not
take the option but I have the house

surveyed are 1 in 3.
My private personal evaluation of the
house in known perfect condition
is
37,200, that is a 1.200 profit over the
asking price.
How should I plan my house purchase
strategy?

CONSTRUCTION
The symbolism used in Figure 4 follows
that described earlier. The Table at the
bottom of the diagram shows the costs
involved as negative, that is repairs,
survey and purchasing an option. The
profit is the consumer surplus, that is the
difference between purchase price and
my personal evaluation, and it is shown as
positive. The net profit is the difference
between the costs and profit for all the
possible alternative routes through the
decision tree. At each choice of equal
weighting the higher figure is entered in
the next decision box. At line six, for
example, the highest the yes no choices
are entered. At line five mu ltiple decisions
with different risk weightings are involved
and on the buying on sight route, for
example, the decision box contains the
figure 360 which derives from the sum of
the possible outcome values.
i.e .. 4 x 1200 :::
.4 x 600 =

.4x -1800

480
-360
360

This process is duplicated elsewhere.

The system can be made to apply to
decisions taken at various times by using
net present benefits and costs deriving
from discounting procedures.
In the example the procedure suggests
not buying on sight but employing a
surveyor and taking an option. For those
interested it is a useful exercise to change
the figures involved to see how the
decisions change. Such an exercise gives
a good feel for the method.

Decis~on
PREFERRED CHOICE
OF DECISIONS

Do I buy on
sight 7

-l~.~_
/

__

YE_S_466>360

__ NO

Do I employ
surveyor7

Do I take
option7

Someone else
buys

Repairs

240

Do I buy

_____ ~YES~:=__:~-N~ __

Or

ROt?

NET PROFIT

Fig.4

Repairs

Survey

-600

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

~# -S40

.600

:p9

-180 -160 -180 -180 -180

1200 1200 12001200

1200

420

-180

-180

-180

-180 -180 -180 -180

-160

-180

-600
-180

.#

1020 -160

-160

>#'

-360

-360

-360

Option
Prolit

420 ~540

1200

THE JOURNAL

1200

1200

OF THE INSTITUTION

1200

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

23

LEGAL NOTES

Professional Negligence and

the Highway Engineer

"

Where a court decision alters the law

affecting a professional person, it is the
duty of members of that profession to
find out about its effect in a reasonable
time, and to act accordingly in doing their
professional thing. This principle was laid
down in 1872in Lee Y. Walker (1872IlR
7 CP121,where a patent agent was held
to have been professionally negligent in
not taking account of a recent court
decision which altered the practice in
making patent applications. He had to pay
substantial damages to the client.
This is still good law. In 1969a firm of
estate aRentsacting on behalf of a private
owner valued land for compuisory
purchase purposes as at the date of
notices ,to treat served in 1962 and 1963,
whereas in 1968 the House of Lords had
held in West Midland Baptist Trust Y.
Birmingham Corporation that the date
for valuation was the date the acquiring
authority took possession. The difference
was a 36 per cent increase in the value of
the land between 1962-3 and 1969, and
the estate agents were held liable to the.
owner - Weedon Y. Hindwood, Clarke
& Esplin (1974) 234 EG 121 - on the
basis that it was professionally negligent
for them not to have taken into account
the change in the law.
When. the enormity of this innocent
linle rule has sunk in, the conscientious
highway engineer (and all the othersl may
well ask what has been going on lately in
the law relating to professional negligence. The answer is quite a bit - and
there was already in existence an awful
lot of professional negligence law, produced, dare one guess, by a fair amount
of real live professional negligence in the
first place. So what's new in the field of
professional negligence for the highway
engineer?
Certifying
The first case. is the House of Lords'
decision in Sutcliffe Y. Thackrah (1974)
AC 727, which was about architects and
quantity
surveyors giving' negligent
interim certificates under clause 30 of the
1963 edition of the standard form of
building contract. The principles laid
down in that case however affect the
position of the engineer as certifier under
a contract, particularly with reference to
clauses 60 and 66 in the fifth edition of
the ICE conditions. It has long been
accepted that judges, magistrates, jurymen and arbitrators, and indeed anyone
exercising a judicial function, cannot be
sued for negligence. After all, you
couldn't have contractors or customers
suing the Official Refereejust because the
Court of Appeal said he'd got the law
wrong. Hence there developed an
argument that an architect or engineer
certifying under a contract was not liable
for negligence in doing so, because he

24 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

was acting in a judicial capacity, like a

sort of umpire between the contractor
and the customer. Rubbish, said the
House of Lords (if one may so precis the
thirty pages of judgment) in Sutcliffe Y.
Theckrah:
when an architect (or
engineer) certifies under a contract he is
exercising his professional skill, for which
he is being paid, and if he is negligent he
can be sued just like the rest of us. This
over-rules the Court of Appeal decision
in Chambers v. GOldthorpe (1901)1 KB
624, and makes it clear that the enginaer
is not immune from actions for professional negligence in this sort of situation.
Design
The second case is GreaY68 v. Baynham
Meikle & Partners (197513 All ER 99.
The engineers were engaged by the
contractors to design a warehouse for
Duckhams at Aldridge in Staffordshire,
and were told that the first floor would be
used for storing and moving massive
drums of oil which would be moved
around the floor by fork-lift trucks. The
method of construction was governed by
British Standard CP 117 (19651 which
contained a warning to designers of the
effect of vibrations caused by imposed
loading in such structures. After a few
months large cracks appeared and it cost
100,000to put it all right. The Court of
Appeal held on the particular factS of the
case that the engineers were under a
contractual duty to provide a design
which would produce a structure capable
of coping with the movements and
imposed loadings of which they had been
told. The court emphasised that its
decision depended on the special facts
and the particular circumstances of the
case, but the moral for the consulting
highway engineer is clear; if you are told
of any unusual loadings to which the
structure will be put, you ignore them at
your peril.
Time limits
The rules about time limitS for suing
engineers for not doing their job properly
have been 'altered' by recent court
decisions, and fears have been expressed
that insurance premiums may rise as a
result.
The old law, laid down in two cases in
1964, Clark v. 'Kirby-Smith
(which
involved a solicitor) and Bagot v.
Stevens Scanlan (an architect) was that
a professional man owed his duty to his
Client in contract and not in tort. In other
words, if the engineer was negligent, the
client would sue him for breach of
contract, not for negligence. A distinction
without difference? No, because in breach
of contract, the right to sue arises when
the contract is broken, i.e. when the
ne!:jIiQent act is commined, whereas in

tort the right to sue arises when the

damage is suffered or is found out or
ought to have been found out by the
victim, so claims for breach of contract
can be time-barred (the period is six years
unless the contract was sealed) long
before a claim in tort arising out of the
same blunder. This is particularly important for engineers, because defects in
structures often do not appear until years
after the act of negligence wliich gave
rise to them. ,
In Esso Y. Mardon in 1976 however
Lord Denning in the Court of Appeal
expressed the view that the professional
ow~ ~ ~lJty to his client both in contract
and tort, so that claims for negligence
against an engineer by the client will not
be barred until six years after the defect
appeared or ought to heve been found
out by the client.
A similar result has been brought about
as regards claims by third parties. In
Dutton v. Bognor Regis UDC in 1972
the local authority was held not liable for
the negligence of a building inspector in
passing under the Building Regulations
inadequate foundations for a bungalow
on made-up ground, because the action
was brought more than six years after the
inspector's negligence. In 1976 however
the Court of Appeal reversed the effect of
Dutton in Spamam-Souter ,V. Town
and Country Developments, and laid it
down that in such cases the right to sue
does not arise until the victim [who may
be a subsequent owner of the property
many years laterl discovers or ought to
have discovered that damage had been
caused. This principle has now been
affirmed by the House of Lords in Anns
v. Merton lBC (19n) 2 All ER 492..
Consulting engineers may therefore
now be faced with claims many years
after the project has been forgotten.
Without wishing to cause undue alarm, it
might be no bad thing for. consulting
highway engineersto check whether their
professional negligenceand public liability
insurance policies cover claims of this
sort, and how their partnership agreements say claims against retired or dead
partners are to be dealt with. Highway
engineers, whether consultants or not,
might usefully review jobs where claims
for latent defects have been wrinen off
because of what was believed to be the
law at that time.
Immunity For Local Authority
Engineers
Is there then no peace for the wicked?
Only, apparently, if you are a highway
engineer employed by a local authority.
How does this come about? S39 of the
Locai Government (Miscellaneous Provisionsl Act 1976 says that s265 of the
(Continued on page 261

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

Transportation Board Guide to

New DoE/DTp Publications
This brief report has been prepared by the
Institution's
Transportation Board as 8
guide for the information of members on
the recommendations contained in two
recent documents - Residential Roads
and Footpaths
Layout
Considerations
DoEIDTp
and Design Bulletin 32 and
Housing Development Note VII.
The purpose
of this
note is to
supplement
the
reading
of these
documents
-. not in any way
to
summarise
or replace this vital read-

. ing.
1. INTRODUCTION
Everyone concerned with roads, road
standards, housing layout, car parking
standards will be interested in two recent
DoE/DTp
publications
intended
to
reshape and maybe entirely recast the
approach to design standllrds of housing
roads, their layout and associated car
parking. Both documents are slanted at
new housing projects
but there are
aspects which may .Hect other housing
development.
Both publiclltions are advillory but will
no doubt be used in cases of appeal.
Apart from its guiding and advisory status
Design Bulletin 32 also gives advice on
minimum standards. It is up to individual
authorities and of course designers themselves to weigh up the advantage of the
economy of these minimum standards
and to reach their own decisions. A trial
period is being adopted by some authorities and careful review and monitoring is
advisable. Rapid publication of the results
of thill monitoring
will no doubt be
welcomed
by authorities
especially
when things go wrong. Of course some
authorities have alrelldy tried out many of
the ideas. Some have narrower roads as a
legacy from the past. So Dellign Bulletin
32 will be read by many with experience
of the values of the recommendations.
However
the message is not just
intended
for
planning
officers
and
planning committees, it has gone out to
architects and builders, developers and all
connected with design aspects of housing
schemes.
The
Design
Bulletin
32
approach will no doubt affect schemes on
the. drawing board and the first designs
may now. be with planning authorities.
The track record of highway engineers is
not exemplary in this field. They are often
blamed for excessive standards. This
Institution has however pioneered recent
research into these factors which lead to
road safety in residential roads and it is
interesting to see the conclusions built
into some of the Design Bulletin 32
recommendations. The bulletin discusses
the various considerations of the layout of
residential roads and footpaths in new
housing schemes. This note examines the

AUGUST (SEPTEMBER

1978

advice given and also important

not mentioned or emphasised.

issues

2. GENERAL COMMENTARY AND

ISSUES
The main objectives of Design Bulletin 32
and the new
approach
is generally
welcomed. How far local authorities go in
the pursuit of economy will no doubt be
conditioned by their judgement on the
merits of individual
housing
layouts.
Design Bulletin 32 gives advice to local
authorities to categorise the function of
primary, dilttrict and local distributor roads
as distinct from residential access roads.
However, although
this may help to
identify the residential access roads with
which the ;Oesien Bulletin is concerned, it
will obviously be difficult to make such
clear distinctions
in established urban
areas. The recommendations
to exclude
non-acce.
traffic from residential roads
if pursued vigorously,
could result i~
demands for gr.lIter capacity on distributor roadll which may not be possible
without adverse effect on the environment of theM roads or the economy of
local authorities.
So whilst mOllt of the main objectives
set out at the beginnings of the chapters
appear acceptable and even desirable in
the pursuit of economy in design, there
are certain importllnt questions and issues
raised:(a) Will nerrower residential roads reduce
vehicular speeds and accidents in
residential roads?
(bJ Would it be better to adopt sharper
curves and by these, and a more
enclosed feeling supported by close
planting near the edge of the carriageways, induce lower speeds in the car
driver? Design Bulletin 32 gives no
specific advice on how to do this
safely.
(c) How is safety for pedestrians to be
'provided where they have to cross
distributor
roads? Subways? Crossings? On this subject Design Bulletin
32 is silent.
(d) How important is a safe environment
for pedestrians in relation to a happy
environment for living? (On this point
Design Bulletin 32 gives advice solely
on how to cater for pedestrians].
(el Is the provision of a separate cycle
network justified and at what flows
are segregated routes justified?
How do designers provide sufficiently
safe, convenient and secure footways
between homes and community facilities? How realistic is it that these
should all be segregated, yet overlooked; have easy gradients and be
protected from driving rain, wind and
snow? Will pedestrians walk in the
carriageway
rather than use lower
standard footways and footpaths? Are

THE JOURNAL

pedestrian desire lines a better guide

to footway provision?
(g) Does Design Bulletin 32 encourage
the provision of "courtyard"
style
layouts and if so are the merits of
these sufficiently
researched
and
proven?
(hl How far should local authorities go in
accepting
narrower
carriageway
widths having regard to the needs for
delivery and servicing vehicles?
(if How do local authorities reconcile the
demands on one hand for economy
and minimum provision on residential
acce_ roads with the wider roads
necessary for bus routes?
(j) What about adequate penetration of
residential areas by the bus? This
important factor seems to have been
overlooked.
(kl What about aspects like winter maintenance in culs-de-sac? This may not
be im~ortant in some areas but other
housing areas are hilly and this factor
cannot be ignored especially where
frequent frost occurs.
(II !he design requirements for car parkIIlg
are mentioned
but
without
emphasis on which are the most
important.
For example the remote
parking inferred as unavoidable with
some forms of development m!lV not
prove to be used owing
to the
secu rity risk.
(m) However ideal from a safety, point of
view;culs-de-sac are limited in length
by the need to gain emergency access
by fire and ambulance services. Why
have no recommendations
on this
important issue been provided?

These are just some of the questions

which arise. There will obviously be no
universal answer. Otherwise here might
have been more definite recommendations and criteria. Instead the general
objectives and approach to design is
outlined as a background from which to
derive principles and design ideals rather
than
specific
layouts
and
widths.
Attempts to derive national standards for
local design have often proved fruitless
and architects, planners as well as local
authorities will want to use their own
initiative, talent and ideas in this era of
rapid social and economic development.
Sufficient scope for the designer to be
selective will be important. Provision for
everything
from play and skateboard
areas to features which add to character
and pleasant appearance will vary. It will
be for local authorities to consider their
own approach in the light of Design
Bulletin 32 and these additional issues.

3. -CAR PARKING - HOUSING

- DEVELOPMENT NOTE VII
Tne recommendation
that parking and
garage space up -to the saturation level

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

25

predicted for the site should be made at

the design stage is welcome. However
the provision is staged it is considered a
wise design recommendation. Parking
dimensions of 4,800mm (16ft! x 2,400mm
(8ft! for the standard car together with
other dimensions for all types of vehicle,
parking space, garages,groups of garaging etc. are all going to be most useful.
The somewhat narrow opening recommendation of 2,100mm17ft! will no doubt
be varied on more elaborate private
housing schemes. The cost indexing is a
useful guide and aid to design. This note
should find ready acceptance as the new
work of reference for "parking in new
housing schemes".
4. CONCLUSIONS
Whilst many of the design objectives may
find reasonably ready acceptance there
will be much scope for further reasoning,
argument and maybe some disputes on
the interpretation of Design Bulletin 32. A
heavy emphasis is put on economy,
pedestrianand cycle provision and safety,
__
allY

..II

_1

....

aIIIIU03

..

.......... :........
IIV

'C111~ltI;:i.:;Jlb

.L

"'''

...

ClI!

~.L_ ...

.....
_

VI.

VVllaL

kind of layout produces good social and

happy environmental conditions. This
points strongly to the need to monitor
and review the adequacy of the recommendations in the light of practice. Local
authorities may feel that this is one
further burden of additional work for
heavily overloaded planning and highway,
development control staffs.
However everything tends to become
easier with practice but the big questions
raised by Design Bulletin 32 may remain
on the table for some time to come.

26 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

(Continued from page 24/

LEGAL NOTES

Professional negligence and the

Highway Engineer
Public Health Act 1875shall have effect
as if it extended to a local authority
[defined in s44 as a County Council, the
GLC, a District Council, a London
Borough Council, the common Council of
the City of London and the Council of the
Isles of Scillyl and as if it extended to
functions under any other Public General
Act and any Local Act. S265 of the 1875
Act says that nothing done by any
member of an authority or by any officer
of such authority or other person whomsoever acting under the direction of such
authority, shall, if the matter or thing were
...J ..............
U'I"I'II'I,;i

'-' ...........

vv~'u

~;"J,..
,n .,",.

'ro........................
__........
u.'"
IU4

t..n..IIt-'V","V

"..,..f,
VI

executing that Act, subject them or any

of them personally to any action, liability
claim or demand whatsoever; and any
expense incurred by any such authority,
member, officer or other person acting as
last aforesaid shall be borne and repaid
out of the general rate or county fund as
the casemay be. This is without prejudice
to the powers of the District Auditor. So
long therefore as the engineer is acting
bona fide under statutory provisions and
in accordance with the directions of his
employing authority, he cannot be made

'.

personally liable, and the local authority

must pick up the bill for any damages
awarded as a result of his negligence. The
section does not mean that the local.
authority engineer is immune from discipline or the sack if he breaks his
contract of employment with the local
authority by commining negligence.
There must also be some doubt as to
whether the words "acting under the
direction of the authority" apply only to
speCific instructions, so that they would
not cover an engineer commining an act
of professional misjudgment on a job
............n
..... '1

'

II

h
~I

'-Io

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hnn ....

Uw

l.

,..i".an.

tiI

'o~.n,..i-li ...
,

...

instructions by his authority as to how to

go about it, but had simply been told to
get on with it.
The author of the Legal Notes feature will
be pleased to deal with members' queries
on this or other articles in the series
published in the Journal.
Members should send their questions
to the Assistant Editor of the Journal lilt 3
Lygon Place, London, SWI who will then
fOlWard them to the author. Queries and
replies will be published in the Journal.

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

National Conference at Swansea

With two successful regional conferences in
the past-Belfast,
1971 and Stirling, 1975the South Wales Branch, in arranging, under.
the Institution's auspices, a Conference to
mark its 21 st anniversary, had much to live up
to, expectations,
however, were amply
fulfilled.
The Conference was based at University
College, Swansea, with its fine views across
campus lawns and gardens to the white sands
of the Mumbles and the lights along the coast,
all looked their best in the warm July sunshine.
The three day Conference, July 12th-14th,
provided some thought-provoking Papers and
discussion and enough social engagements to
leave even the usually resilient highway
engineer gasping for second breath.
The social round began on the evening
before
the
Conference-Tuesday,
July
11 th- when Council members and their
wives, were present, with members of the
South Wales Branch Committee and their
wives, at the Institution's Council dinner held
in the University.
The
official
proceedings
began
on
Wednesday, July 12th in the University's
lecture Theatre with the Institution's AGM
and the installation of Mr J. A. (Tony) Gaffney,
Director
of Engineering Services. West
YOrkshire MCC, as the Institution's
33rd
President. Mr Peter Deavin, County Surveyor
of Norfolk, the retiring President, said that his
year of office had been "the greatest thrill of
his professional life." Tony Gaffney paid
tribute to Peter Deavin' s very busy Presidential
year which had included lengthy talks with CEI
on
the
Institution's
Affiliate
status,
discussions
on
possible
changes
in
membership regulations and the recruitment
campaign which had begun earlier in the year,
together
with
the innumerable
Branch
functions and social events which made up a
President's programme. Peter Deavin was
presented, on behalf of Council, with an
engraved whisky deca.nter.
The meeting also paid tribute to Bill
Saltmarsh,
the
Institution's
Honorary
Treasurer, who was retiring after five years in
office, during which time he had regularly

I
c'
Ii

1,

Congratulations
from Peter Oeavin
as Tony Gaffney
takes over as the
Institution's
President

-\

, .travelled up from his home in Devon to the

Institution's london office. His successor,
former President John Leigh, is going to be
spared neither the hard financial work involved
in the job nor the vagaries of British Rail- he
too lives in Devon.
Bill Saltmarsh was presented with a silver'
cigarette case at the previous evening's
Council dinner.
The Croda Prize, a silver medal, a certificate
and a cheque for [100, sponsored by Croda
Hydrocarbons and awarded for the first time
this year was presented at the end of the
AGM. The winner was Dr Christopher
Clayton, Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering,
Surrey University,
author of "Chalk
in
Earthworks- Performance and Prediction"judged the best technical Paper published in
the Journal during 19 7 7 .
The Conference was then formally opened
by Professor Steel, Principal of Swansea
University, who deputised at the 59th minute
of the 11th hour for Mr Barry Jones, MP,
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Welsh Office,
who was unwell.
After the official opening Mr Gaffney

delivered his Presidential Address to delegates

and their wives, and referred, in passing, to an
item in that morning's newspaper in which
john Tyme and the Aire Valley road protestors
had been reported as once again threatening
to fight against, and force the government to
abandon, proposals for a 12 mile trunk road in
West Yorkshire.
Mr Gaffney
reminded
delegates that in the three years since the last
public enquiry, also abandoned as a result of
the activities of the road protestors, 350
accidents had occurred on that particular
stretch of road, 13 of them fatal.
The Address is published in this issue of the
Journal.
A sherry reception, given by the University,
preceded the official
Branch luncheon.
traditional Welsh hospitality prevailed and
members and guests were not only well fed
but also educated; dining out in Wales, in
future, will hold no terrors for those now
thoroughly conversant with such luncheon
menu items as cig edion o'r badell ffrio, rissOI
tatws newydd; saws Raifort and Moren fach
sgleinios.
Mr G. l. John, Branch Chairman, proposed

---:1
\

Dr Christopher
Clayton receives the
first Croda Award.

Tony Gaffney
delivers his
Presidential Address

I
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS 27

the Toast of the Guests and the Response

was given by Colonel J. Vaughan-Williams,
DSO, OSE, Her Majesty's lieutenant for West
Glamorgan.
Conference business got underway after
lunch when Professor Janusz Kolbuszewski,
presented "Energy and Transport", the first
of the six Papers under the general title
"Transport- The Highway Engineer's ROle."
He set the style for the two succeeding
speakers, Mr A. I. Aird on "Transport - What
the Consumer Needs" and "Road Transport
and the Needs of Industry"
by Mr A.
Kirkwood, in looking at the rOleof the highway
engineer as it affected the 21 st rather than the
20th century. There was, said Professor
KoIbuszewski, "little of the 20th century left
to worry about."
The Paperson Thursday morning, by David
Gent and David Glassborow, were both on
aspects of public transport.
In his Paper, although unavoidable absence
prevented him from presenting it, David Gent
said that the abolition of the car in favour of
public transport would create more difficulties
than it would solve, Freedom of movement
would be curtailed and the cost would be
unbelievably high. Subsidies should only be

Miss Shelagh Roberts, under the thoughtful eye of Swart Mustow, addresses
Conference delegates'
paid where a real social need existed; to use
subsidies to disguise the actual cost of the
service provided was pointless.
The speakers later that morning were Sir
Daniel Pettitt, and Geoffrey Margason, who
spoke, respectively, on "The Movement of
Freight" and " Assessing the Operational
Effects of Using HGV's."
Sir Daniel took the opportunity to defend the
juggernaut against its many detractors. Whilst
causing some problems it was, on balance, by
no means the general. environmental disaster it
was so often depicted as being.
The Papers, and the very high level of
discussion from the floor, reflected the
concern that engineers, whether consultants,
contractors,
local o~ national government
officers, felt about the future which their
successors would inherit. The point was nicely
put by Miss Shelagh Roberts who, in "The
Members' View of the the ROle of the
Highway Engineer," warned of the cynical
complacency of the professional who said
"'VVtro(
should
I
do
anything
for.
posterity - what has it ever done for me?"

28 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

---

John Whiteley of Lancashire CC ri'Jises a point on one of the Papers

The last Conference speaker, Ron Bridle,
looked at the rOle of the highway and trans.
portation engineer in the civil service.
Professor T. E. H. Williams, the Institution's
Senior Vice-President, summed up.
The Conference failed, perhaps, to define
the precise rOle of the highway engineer, not
surprisingly in the current post-White Paper,
post-Leitch atmosphere where the public no
longer entirely trusts engineers' judgement
, and further motorway building is regarded as
an unnecessary evil. Definition,
at this
particular moment,
is not possible. The
Conference did however accurately reflect the
mood of the engineer at a professional crossroads after the fina ncial and public batterings
of the last few years, and it was obvious that
his work and methods, following the White
Paper and Leitch, will follow very different
lines from those of the past.
Many delegates spoke of a lack of real
communication between the engineer and the
public and, paradoxically, some felt that the
breakdown had been caused by too much
public participation rather than too little. The
Leitch
recommendations
of
yet
more
consultation, and probable delays in actual
construction time, would do little to redress
what was a very worrying situation. Stuart
Mustow,
in
his
Paper,
"The
Local

Government Point of View", which aroused

great deal of comment, felt,however,
that
engineers and public came together far too
infrequently for their own good.
Study tours occupied Thursday afternoon,
delegates (apart from those lured away to the
local golf coursel went in three separate
parties to see construction work on the M4,
the selective vehicle detection system in
Swansea and the BSC's Margam steel plant.
The selective detection system, giving bus
priority, was inaugurated earlier this year, with
P1essey Controls Ltd and GEC Elliott Traffic
automation
Ltd
providing
the
street
equipment, controllers, detectors and bus
units. In drawing up the scheme West
Glamorgan CC decided that priority extension
and priority changes should be provided on all
apparatus. Priority extensions allow the green
on the bus stage to be held, if necessary,
beyond the maximum green to a new priority
maximum running time. A priority change is
made on receipt of a bus call, if the bus stage
is not running, and gives right of way to the
bus as soon as it is safe to do so, i.e. after
minimum green has passed and any enforced
stage sequence is completed on minimum.
Bus unit fitting has been done entirely by the
bus company, South Wales Transport [a
subsidiary of NBC) at a rate of two buses a

-/~'

Delegates board
their coach after
visiting M4
construction works

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

'I

day. Finding a position and power supply point

on the buses has not been particularly difficult
even for the older type of front-engined
double-decker
bus.
Those
fined
are
recognised by a yellow triangle in a corner of
the front windscreen. To check that the units
are working, both of the two garages involved
have ooen fitted with test equipment near the
waste point which each bus passes daily.
On Wednesday evening delegates and their
wives were entertained in the Brangwyn Hall,
Swansea Guildhall by West Glamorgan CC
with County Councillor W. T. D. Phillips,
BEM, as their host.
The Brangwyn Hall, named after the Welsh
artist Sir Frank Brangwyn (1867-19561
is
hung with 17 of his British Empire panels
representing the flora, fauna and peoples of
the British Empire, originally painted for the
House of Lords, they were rejected by the
peers. They were incorporated in the new
Guildhall then being constructed. Here the
company were entertained, after a buffet
supper,
by
children
from
Ystalsera
comprehensive school. These 1 2-1 7 year aIds
performed traditional Welsh songs and folk
dances and delighted their audience with their
talent and high degree of professionalism.
Everyone was well pleased that lots of Welsh
Mrs Worthingtons had decided to put their
daughter (or son) on the stage.
The 8rangwyn Hall was again the venue on
Thursday
evening,
when
Conference
delegates were guests of Mayor Councillor
Mrs Susan Jones, JP and the City of
Swansea. Another buffet supper followed and
more Welsh entertainment, this time by the
Cymric Glee Club from Port Talbot. Male voice

-- _..

__ .Jt

... and someone did ask her to play. One

of the Welsh entertainers at the evening
reception given by Swansea City Council
choirs are very much in the tradition of the
Principality and it was enjoyable to hear one in
such fine voice and with a repertoire which
ranged from haunting Welsh melodies through
to Mozart, Leoncarvallo and Rodgers and
Hammerstein.
Ladies Programme
The ladies had their own Conference
programme which included a talk on Swansea
by a Welsh historian, a Landrover safari in

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Margram Park, famous for its wildlife, and a

tour of Swansea's shopping centre.
On the first afternoon they were taken on a
tour of the spectacular Gower Peninsula with
David Judd and Sior Roberts of West
Glamorgan CC as guides. Even the rather
overcast weather on this day failed to dim the
scenic splendours of the coach-tour which
took the ladies along the 19 mile coast-road to
tea at the Worms Head Hotel, Rhosili Bay
and a bracing clifftop walk.
The Gower Peninsula, designated as an area
of outstanding natural beauty in 1932, is an
unspoiled region of secluded white-sand
beaches, leafy country lanes, churches and
castles and picturesque villages such as
Oystermouth, Port Eynon and Pennard. It is still
a fairly inaccessible area for the non-motorist
and even as late as the mid-1 830s, with the
Industrial Revolution well advanced, the poor
roads of Gower could only take non-wheeled
vehicles such as sledges.
The ladies, realists to the last, were not to
be entirely beguiled even by the beauties of
Gower.
'There,"
said a guide, indicating
a
particularly breathtaking view, "is a noted
beauty spot, with a two mile scenic walk
down to the beach."
"Yes," came a small, dissident voice from
the back of the coach "and a two mile walk
up."
The South Wales Branch has now come
of age, and delegates, homeward bound on
Friday afternoon, agreed that, thanks to the
very hard work
of all concerned
in
organising the Conference, it had been a
particularly enjoyable occasion.

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THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERS29

Institution News
Tony Gaffney becomes
Institution's President
At the Institution's AGM, held at University
College, Swansea, on July 12th, 1978. Mr
James Anthony (Tony) Gaffney, BSc(Eng),
FICE., FIMunE., FIHE, was elected as the
33rd President of the Institution.
He
succeeds Mr Peter Deavin, MC, County
Surveyor of Norfolk.
Professor T. E. H. Williams, Head of the
Department of Civif Engineering, University
of Southampton, becomes the Institution's
Senior Vice-President.

Mr Gaffney. who since 1973, has been

Director of Engineering Services, West
Yorkshire MCC, is 50 years old. He was
born in South Wales and educated in
Cardiff. gaining a Diploma in Mechanical
Engineering of the University and Technical
Colleges and an External Degree in Civil
Engineering of the University of London.
He began his career in the County
Surveyor's Department, Glamorgan CC,
where he obtained experience in road planning, design and construction, bridge design
a,ld co.nstruction, maintenance and 'minor
improvement and supervision of constructional works of all kinds, with control of
professional and techical staff.
He moved to Somerset CC, subsequently
becoming Assistant County Surveyor, and
was responsible for the administration and
control of staff dealing with special road
schemes and trunk road schemes.
He was appointed Deputy
County
Surveyor, Nottingha'mshire CC in 1964
where he was responsible. under. the
County Surveyor, for the general management of the highways department, the.
Council, at this time, having an extensive
programme of major works on trunk roads.
In 1969 he became County Engineer and
Surveyor, West Riding CC, one of the
largest highway authorities in' the country,
with a design and construction programme
in excess of (200m. Mr Gaffney's main
engineering responsibility was the design
and construction of over 100 miles of major
roads, including some 200 bridges, and
Feasibility Studies for projects in the region.
His Department was responsible for some
outstanding
structures
including
the
Scammonden Bridge spanning the Deanhead Cutting and M62, the Clifton Viaduct,
the Rawcliffe Interchange (M62/Ml18l and
the Trent Bridge (M180J now under
construction.
On local government reorganisation Mr
Gaffney took up his present post which he
combines with that of Chief Engineer, West
Riding MCC of the North-Eastern RCU. He
controls an annual expenditure of (80m
with a design programme on all civil
engineering works of (180m.

30 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

Mr Gaffney joined the Institution in 1959

and was elected a Fellow in 1972. As
Chairman of the Midland Branch he served
as a Delegate Member' of Council before
being elected to that body in 1970. He
became a Vice-Preside~1tof the Institution in
1973 and has served on a number of the
Institution's
Committees
including
Membership,
Policy, Publications
and

1':':1 __
... :_
CIf;;LiLIUII

Finance of which he has been Chairman for

the past year.
Mr Gaffney is also a Fellow of the Civils
and has been elected to its Council and has
played an active part in its affairs both at
national and local level.
He is the immediate Past-President of the
County Surveyors' Society, a Member of
the Municipals, a Member of the National
Economic Development Committee on Civil
Engineering, past Chairman of the TRRL
Advisory
Committee
on
Highway
Engineering, and Adviser to the Association
of Metropolitan Authorities. and a Chairman
of a BSI Committee.
He has presented papers to international
and national
conferences,
to
major
engineering institution conferences and to
meetings and groups of professional
associations.
Mr Gaffney is married with three children.
His main interests are sporting ones - he is
known to be a canny golfer off his
handicap.

_s ns.&: ....

U I V, II f.lf;;/ .;:,

At the Institution's AGM the following

officers were elected for the 197817 9
Session:
President:
J. A. Gaffney
Vice-Presidents:
Professor T. E. H. Williams ISeniorl
G. H. Potter
R. J. Bridle
The following' members were successful
in the ballot for ordinary membership of
Council:
P. M. Bennett, {Deputy County Engineer,
Surrey CCI

A. W. Bullett, [Deputy County Surveyor,

Kent CCl
B. G. Combridge, (Principal Engineer,
Planning and Transportation Department,
GLC)
G. R. Forrester, IChief Engineer, Materials,
West Yorkshire MCC)
G. A. Leech, (County Engineer and Surveyor. North Riding CCl
G.
Margason,
{Head
of
Transport
Operations, Department, TRRU
A. Onions (Deputy County Surveyor.
Staffordshire CCI
J. M. Whiteley (Senior Assistant County
Surveyor, (Transportation), Lancashire CC,
E. L. Williams (County Surveyor, Suffolk

CCl

Two Past Presidents in Birthday Honours List

Council offers its congratulations to
following members of the Institution
their inclusion in the Birthday Honours
published on the occasion of HM
Gueen's official birthday on June
1978.
"

the
on
List
the
3rd,

OBE

Peter Frank Stott (Fellow). Director-General,

National Water Council. P.resident of the
Institution, 1971-72.

Henry Deryck Peake {Fellow). Director of

Technical Services. London Borough of
Ealing.
Peter Ralph Nelson IMember, 1968, Fellow,
19721 (formerly. Engineer British Solomon
Islands).
Dr Raymond Sharp (Fellowl,' Director,
Advisory Division, Cement and Concrete
Association. President of the Institution
1975-76.

Peter F. Stott

Dr. Ravmond Sharp

CBE

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

Election of members
EJection 01 member.
Total .... mbefShip to date 8. 704
JULY 11th, 197B
Fellows
Brand. E. W. (Professor &. Chalfman, Asian .nstitute of
T echnologYI.
Lehrer, E. (Chief Engr., - Roads - So~eh Boneh O....erseas
IN) Ltd. I.
Burton. D. {Chief C.f. Techn. City of Salisbury. Rhodesial.
Transfer from Member fo Fellow
CruclmeU, J. A. ~AssociatD Consulting Engr., Jamieson
Mackay & Ptnrs.l.
Companions
Clifford. J. (R. f .. Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partnersl.
Members
Ab"' ..... A. P.IAsst.
Engr.. L.B. of Wendsworth,
Technical
Service).
Adebayo.
T. A. A. (Sen, Res. Engr.. Etteh Aro Pws"
l'badan. Nigeria).
AQen, M. P. tRes. engr" Sir WLlliam Ha~cfOw & Partners),
Andrews,
R. J. {production
Mg<.lProgress
Eng .. C. H.
Dobbie & Par1nersl.
Benon. S. J, ~Engr+oHighw9V Ma"ln1enance Un*l. W. Yorks
MCCI.
Bloke. P. K. ITraffic Engr" GLCI.
Bransby. A. lSen. Engr., Northamptonshire
CC),
Cheung.
I<em Cheong
IHighway
Engr.. Freeman
Fo. &
Chol. I<e Fet IAssl. R.f. lC;vi11 Hong Kong Mass Transit
RaHway).
CIa~tOf1-, C. R. L (Head of EKternal Consultancy.
Ground
eng~neefing ltd.}.
EVIUlS. E. B. P. (Site Agent, Mass Transit Tunnels, Tarmac
Construction Ltd . Hong kong).
Fishe" N. G. IA t. Engr .. Cumbria CCI.
Gardner. J. ISection
Engr . Freeman Fox & Partners
Ilondonl1.
G .. h. J. B6asst. Eng ... Middle.brough
BCI.
Ga1Jk:I.G. (Associate. Bullen & Partners),
Ho. Ping Kue Matthew (Engf., scott Wilson Klrkpatrick &
Partnersl.
Home" J. M. lSen. Engr., O;Jl;ford City Councill.
Hurling. P. (Sen. Assl. Engr .. S. Bedlo,d.h"e
OCt.
lbekwe. G. C.IM.Sc.
Student. Univ. of Birminghaml.
I<I,ohoon. S. G. IScientist. John Lang & Sons ltd.!.
loughfin.
C. IAsst.
Engr" Stirling Mayoord
& Partners.

lough:lin. C. IAsst. ngr .. Stirling Maynard 8. Partners,

Peterboroughi.
lue. S. L. IRes. Engr . Nippon Koei. Constrn.
Engg .. East
Maleysial.
Mbuk. T. O.lRes. Engr" Etteh Aro PtnfS .. lbedan. Nigerial.
Muthukoda. J. M. S. (Sen. Engr .. Fasehun Cons. el)gr.,
Yaba. Niger_al.
PhiUtp5. R. C. IAsst. DivisiDnal SUrYeyOf, New FOfBlt DO,
Phillips, R. C. IAsst. Divisional Surveyor. New Forest DO.
Hant. Cel.
Pickl .... D. J. (Pl"incipal Assr. Direct Wor~s. Staffs CCI.
Rutherfo,d.
I. IGraduateAsst.
Engr .. Cumbria CC H&T].
Stuatl:. J. A. IPanner. Vef"ynrd Partners,
COilS. CEI.

We.t.
S. J. IRe . Engr.. Ove Arup & Partners.
1I0rin.
Niger_a).
Wymen,
R. l. IDeputy Chief Res. Engr .. Mid.Glamorgan

CCI .
Transfer from Associare

Member to Member
Hamp.hire
CCI.
Transfer From Student To Member
Quinn, M. G.ISection
Engr . IP&TO 11 SWRCU - Taunton)
Associ81e Members
Merll. K. B. lngr., Osot Assodates,
Nigerial
Jorden, M. J. M. IAsst. Engr Warwidr.shire CCJ
Konstantas. E. ~M>Sc. Student, Univ. -of Birmingham)
Onwujekwe,
F. A. (Project
Eng,,, Enplan Group,
Con .
Engg .. Enugul
Slbeudo, E. E. D. lActing S~~. Engr .. Enplan Group)
LourantDS. X. S. IM.Sc. Student - Univ. of Leeds Transport Planning & Engg.1
Nouri, D. A. A, (Research Student, Univ. of Newcastleupon. Tyne)
Transfer From Student To Associate Member
Ban". J. E. IPlanning Officer {Transport I - Gloucester.shire
CC.I
KotecM. P. (Civll Engg. stud6n1 at Un.iv, of Birmingham~

Bah,. C. S. (Assl. Engr" {Traffic Section)

Srudent
loma . S. 13,d Year Student

RMCS Sh,ivenham]

OBITUARY

Council has learned with much regret of the

following:
Mr E, Birley (South Western Branch Member
since 1959)
Mr B. Eaton (Yorkshire Branch, Member
since 1959)
MrJ. Holt (South-Western Branch, Member
since 1950)
Mr J. W. Hudspith (Yorkshire Branch,
Member since 19691
Mr R. W. Jordan (South-Eastern Branch,
Member since 19661
Mr C. Mercer (North of Scotland Branch,
Member, 1960, Fellow since 197 Of
Mr J. A. Stirling (South Midland Branch,
Fellow since 1961)
.
Mr D. M. Watson (North-Western Branch,
Member since 1974) .

Midland Branch visit leicester and Stamford

The Midland Branch recently visited the
Leicester area traffic control centre. The
afternoon visit consisted of an introductory
talk by John Gillam. followed by a tour of
the centre itself. The control room was seen
in operation, and the Branch viewed the 12
closed circuit television monitors. an illuminated wall-map, VHF radio and computer
terminal. The computer and monitoring
equipment were also seen. The centre uses
the TRANSIT 5 programme and is at
present handling 128 signal installations
although its ultimate capacity is 192.
Loughborough,
some
11 miles from
Leicester. was recently added to the system
and there are now over 40 special detectors
transm itting traffic details and flows so that
congestion
can
be
predicted
more
accurately and avoiding action taken.
A lively question and answer followed. It
was acknowiedged that savings in journey
times had been achieved but members
que stioned whet her the drivers the mseIves
were aware of the two or three minute
reduction.

Visit to Stamford
Some 25 Branch members and guests
had an interesting day at Ketton Portland
Cement Co. works in mid-June. The works,

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

Institution to cosponsor meeting

on noise

situated near Stamford, Lincolnshire, have

an output potential of 1 million tons of
cement per annum and the visit followed
the compiete cement-making process from
the limestone and clay quarrying, some
4000 tonnes are handled per day, through
the crushing, burning and grinding stages to
the eventual transport.
The output, together with the imported
coal required, involves the movement of up
to 8.000 tonnes of materials to and from
the works each day. An .important part of
cement production
is the continuous
chemical
testing
necessary
and
the
company have recently commissioned a
computer analysis facility which accurately
analyses
and
prints
the
chemical
constituents of a sample in less than a
minute, indicating the degree of sophistication obtained in, what to many people,
is an ordinary commonplace product.
The Branch Committee, with its usual
flair for such things, managed to organise
one of the summer's few hot sunny days for
the visit. However, some of the visitors
rather thought this had been overdone and,
in view of the extreme temperatures from
the burning processes in the kilns, would
have been happier to settle for one of the.
cold wet days for which the 197B summer
has been notable.

THE JOURNAL

A one-day Conference - "Planning, Noise

and the Environment" - is being sponsored
by this Institution together with the institution of Civil Engineers, the Royal Town
Planning Institute and the Institute of
Acoustics. It will be held at the Institution of
Civil Engineers, Great George Street,
London, SW1, on Wednesday,' October
18th, 1978.
The Conference will discuss the effects
on people of noise in the spheres of highways and industry, and examine the variety
of attitudes in formulating solutions expressed by local. regional and central
planning highway and housing engineers.
Ways of co-ordinl!lting policies will also be
discussed.
The morning session will be given over to
highways, and the following Papers will be
presented:
.
"UK Approach to Highway Noise and Other
Environmental Factors."
M. F. Maggs.
Department of Transport.
"The Effect of Traffic Noise." Dr F. J.
Langdon, .Building Research Establishment.
"Planning Implications of Traffic Noise." B.
P. Collins, Nottinghamshire CC.
"Design Implications." L. H. Watkins, TRRL
and D. Russell. Department of Transport.
R. J. Bridle, Chief Highway Engineer,
Department of Transport, will chair the
session.
In the afternoon three Papers on industrial
noise will be presented and these will be
followed by five short contributions on the'
industry's approach to noise emission.
The fee is 13.50 for members of the
four sponsoring bodies. with a specially
reduced fee of 6.75 for student members.
The cost is 20,50 for non-members.
The lee is inclusive of VAT and covers
luncheon and light refreshments.
Registration forms, together with further
details, can be obtained from John Byrne.
Secretary, Institute
of Acoustics.
47
Belgrave Square, London, SW1.

Golf Competition at
Bishop Auckland
The 5th Annual Branch. golf.. competition
was held at Bishop Auckland Golf Club,
County Durham on Thursday, June 8th,
1978.24 members and guests participated.
The 18 hole Stableford tournament was
played on a fine warm day with the course
in excellent condition.
The Stephen Plews trophy was won by
D. Atkinson with 35 points, G. Robinson
was second with 32. G. Liddle won the
Visitor's Prize with 34 points and the joint
runners-up were I. M. Douglas and T. W.
Shepherd, each with 32 points.
In the absence of Mr John Tully, the
Branch Chairman;
the
Senior
ViceChairman, William Douglas, presented the
prizes and thanked the Club, the Club
Steward and the Golf Secretary. Arnold
Dippie, for having arranged such a very
enjoyable day.

OF THE INSTITUTION

OFHIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

31

Annual Luncheon Speakers

The Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt.
Hon. William Rodgers, MP, will propose the
Toast of The Institution, at the Annual
Luncheon in December.
The Toast of The Guests will be given by
Mr Cliff Morgan, CBE the former Rugby
international, who, since 1975, has been
Head of Outside Broadcasts GrouP for the
BBC.

The Luncheon will be held on Friday,

December 8th, 1978 at the Grosvenor
House Hotel, Park Lane, W1 at 12.15 for

1.00 pm.
An application form is enclosed in this
issue of the Journal and it should be
completed and returned to the Institution no
tater than Wednesday, November 15th,
1978.

He was elected as a Fellow of the Institution in 1949 .

The Society's two Vice-Presidents for the
coming session are Colonel G. A. Leech,
County Engineer and Surveyor; North
Yorkshire CC and Mr E. W. Jinks, County
Surveyor, Mid-Glamorgan CC.
Mr Smi1h is the third County Surveyor of
Kent to become the Society's President.
previous holders of the office were Mr F. W.
Ruck in 1897 and Mr H. T. Chapman in
1926-27.

Stuart Jardine becomes. new ACMA Chairman

Following the AGM of the Asphalt and
Coated Macadam Association (ACMAl. Mr
S. S. Jardine, Managing Director. Wimpey
Asphalt ltd., was elected Chairman for
1978179. He succeeds Mr B. W. Baker,
Executive Director, Tarmac ltd. Mr J. M.
Boardman. Managing Director, J. G. Eccles
Contracting
Ltd.,
was
elected ViceChairman.
Mr Jardine joined this Institution as a
Member in 1957 and became a Fellow in
1975.
ACMA has been. concerned for some
years at the deteriorating state of roads in
the UK due to government cuts in maintenance and expenditure. The deterioration
was recently
highlighted
in the AA
magazine "Drive". Mr Jardine has pledged
to go on pressing the government to reverse
the cuts and "save our roads:'

S. Jardine

Diploma in Transportation 'Engineering The following candidates were successful

in the examination for the Instiution's
Diploma in Transportation Engineering held
in April, 1978.
[Names are listed in alphabetical orderf
Bailey, M E, MICE, MIHE
Senior Engineer [Traffic Routes). Devon CC.
Baker. B R. MIMunE
Principal Engineer [Transportationf, Essex

CC .
Davies, R f, BSc, MICE
Principal Engineer, Jamieson, .MacKay &
Partners.
Hunter, D McC, MICE. MIMunE, MIHE
Section
Engineer, (Highway
Planning),
Berkshire CC.

32 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

SeniorVice-President
to serve on
Standing Advisory
Committee

1978

McLoughlin, T J. BSc. MICE

Assistant Engineer, Peterborough City.
Martin, R J, MIMunE
Senior Assistant Engineer. Colchester BC.
Taylor. R J, BSc, MIMunE
Senior Assistant Engineer (Transportation)
Northumberland CC.

1978 Prizewinners
The Graham Bennett Prize of the best all
round candidate was. awarded to Mr T. J.
McLoughlin. The George Pike Prize for the
best Professional Report was not awarded
this year.
NB The appointments listed above are
those held on January 1st, 1978.

Professor T. E. H. Williams. Professor of

Civil
Engineering,
University
of
Southampton, and the Institution's Senior
Vice-President, has been appointed one of
.the eleven members of the Standing
Advisory
Committee
on Trunk
Road
Assessment.
The Committee was set up by the
Secretary of State for Transport following
on the recommendations of the Leitch
Committee on Trunk Road Assessment,
which reported in January of this year.
Sir George Leitch will Chair the new body
on which seven'members
of the earlier
C':'~mitt"",
will again serve. They are
Professor Williams.
Mr R. Beckham,
Managing Director, SPD ltd; Professor J.
Durbin, Professor of Statistics, University of
London; Dr. S. Glaister; Professor P. Hall,
Professor of Geography, University of
Reading; Mr M. H. Middleton, Director,
Civic Trust and Dr J. Prideaux.
The three new members are Professor M.
Bleesley, Professor of Economics, London
Business School; Mr W. H. Deakin, County.
Planning Officer. Kent CC and Mr N. G. Ellis.
County Engineer. South Yorkshire CC, a
Fellow of the Institution and a member of
Council.
The Secretary of State, in reply to a
Parliamentary Question on June 7th said
that the Committee's terms of. reference
"are to advise on any significant changes
proposed
in appraisal or forecasting
methods; to initiate proposals for such
changes; and to mak.e recommendations for
expert studies in defined cases.
His first task would be "to seek the
Committee's
views'
initially
on
my
Department's revised methods of traffic
foreca sting
and
on
their
furthe r
development, including the RHTM and on
the development
01 a comprehensive
fr<Jmework for the apprais<J1 of road
schemes."
ILeitch at Leamington, see pages 11-20 ).

CORRECTION
In the biography of Mr Peter Mcilroy
published in the Nominations to Council
fe<Jture {"The Highway Engineer", June,
1978) it was stated that he had worked on
the City of Birmingham Transportation
Study for Freeman Fox and Partners.
This should have read - the City of
Edinburgh
Transportation
Study
for
Freeman Fox & Associates. Apologies are
offered for this error.
.It is also regretted that, in the July
Journal, on page 17, the wrong caption
appeared under the photogr<Jph in column
two. This should have read Ken Hill and not
Ken Cox.
Apologies are offered
to both the
Kenneths for this error.

AUGUST!SEPTEMBER

1978

William Rodgers
visits NorthEastern Branch
exhibition
The Rt. Hon. William Rodgers, MP, Secretary
of State' for Transport; visited the North.
Eastern Branch's Silver Jubilee exhibition at
Stockton-on-Tees on Friday, May 19th,
1978. Accompanying him were Councillor
and Mrs R. Dobson, Mayor and Mayoress of
the Borough of Stockton-an-Tees, Councillor
J. A. Tatchel!, Chairman of Cleveland CC,
the President, Mr Peter Deavin, Mr A. H.
Rhodes, Chairman of the Branch and the
Secretary of the Institution Miss P.A. Steel.
The aim of the exhibition, which formed
part of the celebrations marking the silver
iubilee of the North-Eastern Branch, was to
demonstrate to the public the contribution
made by highway and transportation
engineers to the development of the north.
east region since 1952.
The exhibition opened at the Ashington
Technical
College,
Ashington,
Northumberland on January 16th, 1978

Pictured at the exhibition: from left to right the Prvsidenl, Mrs Dobson. the Secretary
of State, Mr R. Dobson Councillor J.A. Tachell 8m/ Mr A.H Rhodes
and visited ten other centres, Cramlington,
Morpeth,
Newcastle
upon
Tyne,
Gateshead,
Durham,
Darlington,
Sunderland, Middlesbrough, and Stockton
on Tees before closing at Washington on
June 5th. 1978.
The President was able to point out to Mr

Happy hours at Hurlingham

The evening began, however, with a hint
of disaster, the President was late - very
late - because his chauffeur, none other
than the Branch Vice-Chairman, had a close
encounter of the nastiest kind with a car
which refused to start. Notwithstanding
this incident (and not without standing
either) Mr Peter Deavin wittily responded to
the Toast of "The Guests" in the elegant
surroundings of the Hurlingham Club on
May 12th, 197B, at the Greater London
Branch Dinner/Dance. A record number of
members and guests attended.
The tone of the evening was set by the
Chairman, Jim Henbest who, dwelling
momentarily on the topic of pessimists,
defined the species as "those who eat all.
bran with their prunes." His enthusiastic
welcome to guests included representatives
of five other Branches and the Institution's
Secretary, Miss P. A. Steel.
Much sympathy was felt.for the President
and his wife Phyllis on hearing that his life is
so fully occupied with Branch Dinners that
he has to forgo the occasional round of golf.
Our commiserations to him, and especially
to Phyllis. who, at this, the last Branch
dinner of the 1977/78 session, laughed as
heartily at the President's jokes as if she
was hearing them for the first time. Later in
the evening she drew the tickets for the
raffle.
Their homeward journey, courtesy of Alex
S~ndberg in an exotic American convertible
of doubtful vintage, was less hair-raising
than their arrival, and in the wee small hours
the President and his wife, she carrying
aloft her bouquet, could be glimpsed gliding

AUGUST /SEPTEMBER

1978

away through the Club's imposing gateway.

How to do justice to this really happy
evening for those unfortunate enough to be
absent? An impossible task. To those poor
souls we can only suggest they come to
Hurlingham on May 11th, 1979 and see for
themselves.
RDR.

Institution joins TRRL on

cycling symposium
To mark the centenary of the Cyclists'
Touring Club, and in recognition of the
growing interest in the role of the bicycle,
the Institution is co-operating with the TRRL
in organising a one-day symposium on
"Cycling As A Mode Of Transport." This
will be held at TRRL, Crowthorne,
Berkshire, on Wednesday, October 25th,
1978 and will be of interest to transport
engineers, planners in local government,
transportation
engineers and research
workers in this particular field.
The programme will cover cycle safety,
legal aspects, design criteria for cycle
facilities and case studies of cycle demon.
strations or experiments in Britain, the
Netherlands and the USA.
The Conference fee is 17 and includes
lunch. Application forms and full details are
available from Mr T. F. Morgan, TRRL, Old
Wokingham Road, Crowthorne, Berkshire
RG11 6AU. Since numbers will be strictly
limited to 80 participants early application is
advisable.

THE JOURNAL

Rodgers details of the highway and

transportation developments that had taken
place within the Branch in the last quarter
century, the progress made in geometric
and pavement design and information on
research projects currently underway at the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Irish engineers play for

Harold Scott Trophy
The Northern Ireland Branch golf match for
the Harold Scott Trophy was played at
Portstewart on Friday, June 2nd, 1978, and
50 members and guests enjoyed fine
golfing conditions on an excellent course.
The winner was Garth Giffin of Coleraine
playing off a handicap of nine with 37
points. Joint winners in second place with
36 points were Ronnie Ross {18) of Belfast
and Bob Roulston (9f of Lisburn. The
Visitors Prize went to James Press (14) with
37 points who was followed by Ivan
Morrison (8) with 36 points and Roy
Crawford (41 with 35 points.
After tea in the club house Harold Scott a
Past President of the Institution, and the
donor of the Trophy, presented the prizes
assisted by Bill Coutts
the Branch
Chairman. GorQon McMullan, who has
organised the golf competition since its
inception, conducted
the proceedings.
These included a draw for prize-winners in
the golf section's "200"
Club an event
instituted to raise funds to send a Northern
Ireland team to represent the Branch at the
Locan Cup competition to be held in
Nottinghamshire later this month.
Mr McMullan welcomed members end
guests and thanked all those who had contributed to the 1978 fixture including
Portstewart Golf Club, R. J. Maxwell
IContractorsl, George Peden, Contractor,
Ballymoney; Bill Coutts (Tennants Tar
Distillers) and Jimmy Kerr (Antrim Asphalt)
for their support in donating prizes and to
Miss Elizabeth Head, a member of the
Branch Committee: who made the draw.

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

33

What's on at the start of the new session?

Paper by Or K. R. Peattie. Meeting at 5.30
for 6.00 pm at the Welcome Inn, Station
Road, Petersfield, Hampshire.

Headquarters
Transportation Worllshop

October 5th, 1978: "Critical Issues in Planning and Managing Intermediate Forms of
Transport in Developing Countries. Or J. O.
Howe and Or P. A. Cornwell.
Admission to the Works.hop is by ticket
only. Applications should be addressed to
the
Technical
Adviser,
Institution
of
Highway Engineers, 3 Lygon Place, Ebury
Street, London, SW1.
Meetings will be held at the Royal
Commonwealth
Society, Northumberland
Avenue, London, WCl at 5.00 for 5.30
pm. Please note new time.

South-Eastern

September 28th, 1978:

"An Engineer's View of Japan at the Eighth
IRF World Conference." Paper by D. B.
Charnock. Meeting at Spa Hotel, Tunbridge
Wells, Kent.

South Western

September 14th, 1978:

Visit to Westleigh
Quarry, Somerset,
followed by Paper on "Asphalt and Bitumen
Specifications"
by L. W. Hatherly. Visit
begins at 11.00 am.
West Midland

September 14th, 1978:

South Midland

"Midland links Bridge Joint Repairs:' Paper

by Mr Haslewood. Meeting at 5.15 for 6.00
pm at County Hall, West Midlands CC.

October 3rd, 1978:

October 7th, 1978:

"Structural Pavement Maintenance." Paper

by a representative of TRRl. Joint meeting
with the East Midland Branch at Milton
Keynes.

Dinner/dance
at
Wolverhampton.

October4th, 1978:

South Wales

Yorkshire

Joint meeting with the Civils at 6.45 at

Assemt>ly HnU!;B,Theatre Street, Norwich.

"Motorway

East Anglian

East Midland

October 10th, 1978:

Joint meeting at March with HTTA. Autumn
golf meeting at Burleigh.

September 20th, 1978:

Visit to TRRL, Crowthorne, Berkshire.

September 27th, 1978:

Western

Avenue

construction

Midland

September 11th, 1978:

Locan Cup golf competition
Golf Club, Kirby-in-Ashfield,
shire.

at Hollinwell
Nottingham-

September 26th, 1978:

Visit to EEC Quarries at Croft, Leicestershire. Meeting at 10.30 am.

Ocotober 10th, 19 78:

"Structural Pavement Maintenance:'
Speaker from TRRL. Joint meeting with the
West Midland Branch.
Northern

September 20th, 19.,8:

Joint visit with the Civils to Tyneside Metro
project, Newcastle.
North Wales

September 27th, 1978:

"Residential Estate Roads." Paper by D. A.
Collins and G. M. Senior. Meeting afGrand
Hotel, L1andudno.
North.Western

Central and Southern Scotland

October 2nd, 1978:

Albany

Hotel.

North of Scotland

September 27th, 1978:

Meeting at the Tree Tops Hotel, Aberdeen.

September 30th, 1978:

Site visit to Cromarty Bridge (A91 with the
Civils.

October 10th, 1978:

"Highway
Lands~aping."
Paper by T.
Lemon. Meeting at Cummings Hotel, Inverness.
Southern

October 10th, 1978:

"Bituminous

Materials for Road Surfacing."

34 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

South

October 10th, 1978:

See under Midland Branch.

Day visit to Plastic Coatings Ltd.

Or.tnher 13th. 1978:

5.30 for 6.00 pm at the South Wales
Institute of Engineers, Cardiff.

East Anglian
Chairman:F. G. Gadsby
Six meeting were held:
(1) "Landscaping in Highway Engineering."
l. Kramer. Joint meeting with HTTA.
(2) "Government's
Policy on Transport
Implications for East Anglia." G. P.
Walker.
(3) "Highway Maintenance." I Corsie and T.
Kitt.
(41 "Arbitration
for the Engineer."
K.
Severn.
(51 "Engineering for Value." B. G. Preese.
(6IAGM.
Site visits were made to the Humber
Bridge and Dereham By-Pass, Norfolk.
A successful wine and cheese party was
held at the Wensum
Lodge Cellars,
Norwich, the Annual Dinner at the Royal
Hotel. Norwich, was attended by the
President and Mrs Deavin.
Eight players represented the Branc h at
the Locan Cup Golf match in September,

1977.
Chairman:J. Gregory.Cullen

Visit to Dinorwick power station.

the

in

East Midland

September 26th, 1"978:

Annual
Dinner_ at
Glasgow.

Hotel,

Annual Dinner/dance
at Cairn
Harrogate at 7.15 for 7.45 pm.

Hotel,

BRANCH REPORTS 1971/78

Greater London

Visit to
works.

Mount

September 20th, 1978:

October 10th, 1978:

Communications

the

Visits were made to the Humber Bridge,

Cambridge Northern By-Pass, Newmarket
to Cambridge dual carriageway and ARC
Ltd at Great Linford.
Golf
meetings
were
held.
at
Wellingborough and Ramsf:lY.
The Dinner/Dance in March, 1978 was
attended by the President, Mrs Deavin, the
Secretary and representatives from neighbouring branches.
Six meetings were held:
(1 f "World 01 the Waterways,"
A. G.
Hemming.
(21 "Aggregates in Road Construction." C.
A. Loveday.
(31 "Road Accidents:' J. J. Leeming.
(41 "Street
Lighting
Policy and Road
Safety." J. W. M. Vallis and A. K. Brodie.

(51 "Computer Aids." P. Dirdal.

(6) "Management of Urban Traffic Movements." J. D. Bennett and M. S. Pickering.
(7) 8ranch Competition
Paper. "Making
Belter
Use of
Existing
Transport
Resources." J. M. Sharpe.
Two meetings were held jointly with the
Civils and one with HTTA.
The Branch is most grateful to the
Chairman for the excellent way in which he
led the Branch through a busy year. He also
served as a member of the Institution's
Working Party which drafted evidence to
the Finniston Committee.
Greater London

Chairman:R. J. Henbest
The Branch visited Tarmac's plant at Hayes,
Middlesex, the second Dartford Tunnel and
paid two visits to the Traffic Control Room
at New Scotland Yard.
Three meetings were held:
11) "County Highway Policies Since local
Government Reorganisation and in the
Future." M. A. Self.
(2) "Feeder Roads in Developing Cou ntries:'
J. N. Bulman.
A joint meeting was also held with the
Institute of Asphalt Technology.
The President, Mrs Deavin and the Secre.
tary
attended
the
Branch
Annual
Dinner/Dance at the Hurlingham Club in
May, 1978.
The AGM was held in April. 1978.
Midland

Chairf!lan:A. A. F. Terry
The Branch visited the Humber Bridge in
June, 1977, response was so great that a
visit was held on two consecutive days.
Four meeting were held:
(1) "Heat Damaged Roads:' P. Distin.
(2) "100 Degrees in the Shade - Sacrifices and Rewards of Work in the Middle

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

East:'. Mr McCartney. Joint meeting

with the Civils.
(3) "Developments
in Highway Materials
and Design." One.day symposium at
Nottingham University.
14) "TRRL Research on Skidding from 1969
to 1975." Mr Hoskins. Joint meeting
with the Institute of Quarrying.
The annual bullet/dance
was held at
Southwell in October, 1977 and the Annual
Dinner, attended by the President at Newark
inFebruary,1978.
The Annual golf competition was held at
Longcliffe and was preceded by the AGM
and a Paper - "Motor Rallying and the
Highway Engineer" - by J. Porter.
Northern
Chairman: A. Walsh
The following meetings were held:
(11 "The Ml Over the Yorkshire Coalfield."
F. R. Oliver.
(21 "Payment
for
Transport."
Forum,
Messrs Meadows, Whelan, Bird and
King.
13) "Some Aspects of Opencast Mining."
M. W. Byron.
14) Film evening.
15) "Better Value for Forward Planning.'
Messrs Burgoyne, Swarbrick, Blenkharn
and Hardie.
The Annual Dinner was held at the
George Hotel. Penrith in February, 1978 and
attended by the Senior Vice. President and
the Secretary.
Northern Ireland
Chairman: W G. Coutts
Papers were given on:
(11 "Work Study in the Public Sector,"
Messrs Drew, McCurdy and Plester.
(21 "Terram in Civil Engineering," J. Nixon.
(31 "Theory of Traffic Management As An
Aid to Everyday Problems of Traffic
Management." Professor R. White.
The Annual Dinner was held at Dunadry
Inn, Antrim in April, 1978 and attended by
the President, Mrs Deavin and the Secretary.
There was a site visit to Dungannon ByPass in May, 1978 and the annual golf
competition was held at Portstewart
in
June, 1978.
North-Eastern
Chairman:A. H. Rhodes
The Branch celebrated its 25th anniversary
in late 1977 and marked the event in three
ways: 11) the publication of a history of the
Bra-nch written by Professor Cassie; (2) a six
month travelling exhibition o'n highway and
transportation work in the north-east 19521977 and (31 a celebratory Annual Dinner/
Dance, attended by the President, Mrs
Deavin and the Secretary.
Six ordinary meetings were held, venues
being D~rham, Newcastle upon Tyne and
Middlesbrough.
11) Site visit to Tyne and Wear construction
works and Paper by D. Howard on "The
Planning of the Metro::
(2) "Problems of Traffic Prediction." A. C.
Dick. Joint meeting with the Municipals.
(3) "Private or Public Transport - Which Is
Best for OUt Cities?"
Open forum
workshop.
Joint meeting with
the
Chartered Institute of Transport.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

(4) "The Humber Bridge," B. P. Wex. Joint

meeting
with
other
north. eastern
professional bodies 'given at Newcastle
and Middlesbrough.
(5) "Bituminous Materials for Road Surfacing." K. R. Peattie. Joint meeting with
Institutes of Asphalt Technology and
QUarrying.
(61 "The Contribution of Highway Engineer.
ing to Road Safety:' R. A. Chapman.
(71 "The Design and Construction of the
Bykker Viaduct:' W. J. T. Smyth, Joint
meeting with the Concrete Society.
- The
Transportation
Board
of
the
Institution met at Newcastle in November,
1977.
The Branch is most grateful to Mr A. H.
Rhodes for his help and advice during his
year as Branch Chairman.
North Wales
Chairman: M. R. Mail'
The Branch visited the Dinorwick pumped
storage scheme.
Four Papers were given:
(1) "The
Reconstruction
of
Britannia
Bridge." P. A. Cantrell.
(21 "Noise Associated with Roadworks." R.
A. Hood.
(31 "Contractural Matters Relating to Road
Works Construction." D. G. Minas.
(41 "Pedestrianisation."
E. Dalby.
The AGM was held at Colwyn Bay and a
buffet/dance at the Talardy Hotel, St Asaph.
North.Western
Chairman: M. J. UoVd
Ten meetings were held:
(11 "Works Study:' M. H. BelL
(21 "Estate
Roads." M. Senior and E.
Je~kins.
131 "Glass Reinforced Cement."
J. W.
Heavens.
141 "Concrete Block Paving," A. Pink.
151 "The Use of Permeable Membranes in
Civil Engineering Soil Structures." P. R.
Rankilore.
16) "Acton Grange Trunk Outfall Sewer." T.
Walsh.
17) "The Poor Contractor." R. David.
(B) "Lancashire Conjunctive Use Scheme."
F. Barnwell.
(9) "Traffic Appraisal and Forecasting." H.
Williams.
(1 OJ. "Dinorwick
Pumped
Storage
System:' B. G. T. Copeland and J. C.
Joel.
All were 10lnt meetings
with other
professional bodies.
The Annual Dinner was held at Blackburn
in April, 197B attended by the Senior VicePresident and the Secretary and the Annual
Dinner/Dance at Chester in October, 1977.
The Branch golf competition was held at
Sandiway, Cheshire.
A site visit was made to Bury Easterly ByPass. The AGM was held at Winwick in
March, 197B.

Central and Southern Scotland

Chairman: W H. Cooper
Meetings, some joint with the Civils, were
held at Lochgilphead, Galashiels, Dumfries,
Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow and Ardrishaig.
The following Papers were given:
(11 "Thoughts
of
the
Maintenance

THE JOURNAL

Engineer." J. W. Ritch and W. S. Core.

(2) "Noise and the Environment."
I. J.
Murdoch.
131"Junction Design." F. Robinson and W.
Dougall.
141"Findhorn Bridge and Siocht Section
A9."
K. H. Livesey
and H. M.
Henderson.
151"Computers
and
the
Highway
Engineer:' J. Dunsmore.
161"Transportation:'
Site visits included a tour of part of the
new Glasgow underground and the New.
castle rapid transit system.
The Annual Dinner was held in Glasgow
and the Dinner/Dance in Edinburgh.
The golf outing was held at Monifieth.
The Branch sent its congratulations to
Tom Sinclair, a Past President on his Golden
Wedding anniversary in 1977.
A close association with the South of
Scotland HTTA has been built-up and their
Chairman has attended a number of Branch
meetings.
North of Scotland
Chairman: C. S. C. McAndrew
Thirteen
meetings
were
held, six in
Aberdeen, five in Inverness and one each in
Stornaway and Wick. Several were joint
meetings with the Civils.
11) "Transport Policy." T. D. Wilson.
12) "Design of Site Investigations." D. G.
Price.
13) "A9
Siochd
to Dalmagarry:'
K.
Livesey.
j4) "Low
Cost
Forest
Roads:'
P.
Malcolmson and K. Davidson.
15) "Roads and Bridge of Scotland 17251925." G. R. Curtis.
(6) "Highway Landscaping." 1. Lemon.
17) "Thoughts
of
a
Maintenance
Engineer." j, Ritch & W. S. Core.
(8) "The Bridges of Scotland,"
A. A.
Cullen Wallace.
(9) "Kessock Bridge." L. Clements.
(101 "Falsework." R. V. Watson.
A film evening and site visits to Cromarty
Bridge and A9 roadworks formed part of the
year's programme together with a buffetl
dance the Annual Dinner and the golf
tournament.
Southern
Chairmen: V S. Payne
B. Warmisham
The annual social evening was held at
Petersfield in April, 1977 and 100 members
guests attended.
There were site visits to Shoreham
Cement Works, near Steyning; A31MI construction site at Havant and a ioint meeting
with the South. Eastern Branch to the East
Grinstead inner reliel road.
Golf matches were held in April, 1977,
versus the Municipals; July, 1977, versus
the South-Eastern Branch and October,
1977 versus Tarmac Greensward.
The
Branch won two of the three matches. It
came third in the Locan Cup competition in
September, 1977.
The Branch held a full programme of
winter meetings;
(11 "Planning"
B. Poole on "Policy and
Highways" and N. Rowes on "Transportation and TPP:'
(21 A discussion on "People and Move.
ment,"

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

35

[3] "Maintenance of Highway Structures."

M. Cockersole.
(4] "Engineering
Judgement
on
the
Strength of Concrete in Structures." J.
D. Dewar.
i5) "Lean Concrete and the Compliance
Requirements." B. J. Walker.
i61 AGM and BP Film "End of the Road."
Members also attended meetings of the
Transportation Group of the Civils and a
joint meeting with the Civils at Winchester
on "Quality Control in Major Roadworks"
by R. A. Worsfold.
The
Annual
Dinner
was
held in
Portsmouth in October, 1977 and was
attended by the President, Mrs Deavin and
the Secreta ry.
South-Eastern
Chairman: B. C. D. Kermode
The following Papers were presented:
(11 "The Problems of At-Grade Junctions."
A. W. Bultett and E. R. Emery.
(21 "Resource Planning for a Direct Works
Section." W. 5. Tombs.
(31 "The Engineer's Responsibility for Road
Safety." G. Jehan.
(4t "Wirtgen Planing Process." Colas (UKt
Ltd representa tive.
(5t "Archaeological
Rescue Related to
Motorway Projects." P. Fasham.
Visits were made to the East Grinstead
inner relief road, section of the M20 and
M25 motorways in Kent, and the APCM
cement works.
The Dinner/Dance held in Tunbridge Welts
in October, 1977 was attended by the
President and Secretary.
S.)uth Midland
Chairman: M. F. Hardy
The Branch visited the A41 Courtlands
Drive Improvement Scheme, Levensden
Green and the John Laing R&D Centre at
Borehamwood. This was followed by a
mock arbitration session by C. C. Timms.
A buffet/dance was held at Tring in July,
1977.
Six meetings were heJd. These were:
(1) "Airports
Effects on Local Land
Transportation
Infrastructure."
S.
Maiden.
(21 "Repairs to Bridge Joints on the Midland
Links Motorways",
H. Aizlewood and
"Construction
Problems Arising from
Bridge Design Factors," R. M. Tiller.
(31 "Roads in the Middle East." B. "K.
Hartshorne.
(4t "Limit State Design." Dr L. A. Clark and
J. G. Turner.
(5) "Under 30 Evening." "Regional Highway Traffic MOdel." D. Ashley and
"Maintenance
in a Time of Financial
Restraint." A. W. Howling.
(6) "The East Cliff Viaduct, Dover." M. E.
Dempsey and R. L. Jones.
The Branch Dinner was held in April 1978
and attended
by the President and
Secretary.
The AGM was held in May, 1978 and was
followed by a talk, "Making Parliament
Work for You," given by the Institution's
Secretary.
South Wales
Chaifman:G.L.John
The year was marked by a National Can-

36 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

ference held in Swansea from July 12th14th, and attended by 200 delegates
and their wives. The Institution held its
AGM immediately preceeding the opening
of the Conference and Mr J. A. Gaffney
was installed as President.

Subscriptions - your
very last chance to
pay up

Six meetings were held during the

session:
(11 "Trading Problems of the Ouarrying
Industry." L. A. E. Hopkins.
(21 "Roads for People." J. M. McCluskey,
(3t "M4
Motorway
Cory ton
to
Pencoed." Messrs Evans, Rees, Kilborn
and Longly and various contractors
representatives.
(4) "Highway
Maintenance
Appraisal
System." 1. Keevil and F. K. G. Phillamore.
15) "Road Construction from a Contractor's
Point of View." l. J. Cox,
i6) "Bridges in Wales .An Historical
Review." Dr B. I. G. Barr.
Some meetings were joint with the Civils.
The Branch visited the M4 Motorway
project Cory ton to Pencoed. The Annual
Dinner was held in Cardiff and attended by
the President and Secretary.
South Western
Chaifman: B. \III. Mansefl
The Branch visited the A30 Exeter/Okehampton road, the Esso Refinery at Fawley
and Amey Roadstone units at Tytherington
and Chipping Sodbury.
Symposia were held at Bristol on "People
and Movement"
and at
Exeter on
"Training."
The AGM was .held at Taunton in March,
1978 and films were shown during the day
from TRRL and potters-Ballotini Ltd.
The Branch Annual Conference was held
at Torquay in June, 1978 attended by the
President, Mrs Deavin and the Secretary. A
paper was presented by G. H. Potter on
"Asphalt in Europe".
West Midland
Chaifman: A. N. Brant
The Branch visited the JCB works, and a
ladies day visit to Warwick Castle and Lord
Leycester Hospital was also arranged.
A one-day symposium to discuss the
Leitch Committee
report was held at
Leamington Spa in May, 1978 and attended
by 500 delegates.
The following papers were given:
(1) "Design Bulletin 32 - Design of Residential Streets." J. Dunbar.
12) "Use of Steel Fibre in Concrete." R. E.
Beckett.
(3) "Public
Transport.
The
Uncertain
Future." R. R. Ball and A. J. P. Percival.
(41 "Economics - The Growth and Decay
of Cities." J. Couch. Followed by hot pot
supper.
(5) "Earthworks Code of Practice." 8. Cox
and D. Quinion.
(61 A workshop to discuss the effects of
road surfaces of the summer of 1976
and the winter of 1976177. Papers by P.
Distin, N. Wright and A. Onions.
'
A Dinner/Dance was held at Wolverhampton
and the Annual
Dinner at
Sutton Coldfield attended by the President
and Secretary, preceded by the Branch
AGM.
A golf competition was also held during
the session.

;----r _.

o~:~~
--

",,"

. "';:""

Into the outer darkness,

,cos he didn't pa Vhis sub,
Goes a poor old highwaV engineer.
Cold. alone SIJnS love
He owes at very least a pound,
Some, alas, owe more,
And its only fair to them wot pavs,
That defaulters get the door
So if vou're one that hasn't paid,
Please kindly reimburse,
If not, it must be assumed, / fear.
You enjov this vearlv verse.
Pay NOW and help stamp
poets!

out amateur

Yorkshire
Chairman: J. R. Nelson
Seven meetings were held:
(1) Visit to By-Pass road A629 at Eiland,
and pre-cast concrete
factories
at
Halifax.
(2) "Problems of Traffic Prediction." R. J.
Bridle.
(3) "Damage to Surface Dressings Following the Hot Dry Summer of 1976." Symposium. Papers by Messrs Nelson,
Forrester and Robinson.
14) "Compact
Urban
Traffic
Control
Demonstrations Project, Hull." P. C.
Redfern.
(5) "How Our European Neighbours Tackle
Bitumen Road Construction."
e. H.
Chipperfield and M. J. Leonard.
16) Visit with the Concrete Society to Trent
Bridge, South Humberside Motorway,
M1 80, Scunthorpe.
(7) "The Work of a County Archaeology
Unit and the Highway Engineer." P.
Mayes.
The Annual Dinner was held at Harrogate
in October, 1977 and was attended by the
President, Mrs Deavin and the Secretary.
The annual golf day was held at York in May,
1977.
The Annual summer meeting and ladies
day took place in June, 1977 with visits to
the Denby Potteries, Matlock and the
Ripley-Swanwick By-Pass road.

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

,
New Post for Jack Parker

Sir Kirby Laing takes on

CIRIA Chairmanship
Sir Kirby Laing, a Fellow of the Institution
since 1961, has been elected Chairman of
the Construction Industry Research and
Information Association (CIRIA). He took up
office on June 7th, 1978.
Sir Kirby has strong ties with CIRIA
having served on its inaugural Council in
1966 and on its Finance Committee. He
succeeds Dr Oleg Kerensky, CBE, a Past
President of this Institution, who has been
CIRIA's Chairman since 1970.
At the AGM Sir Kirby paid tribute to Dr
Kerensky's untiring effort on CIRIA's behalf
and thanked him for his work over the last
eight years. Dr Kerensky was presented
with a pair of silver candlesticks by Mr A. J.
Hill, Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd., and
a Council member on behalf of CIRIA's
Council and staff. He too paid tribute to Dr
Kerensky's Chairmanship which, he said,
"Had served to enhance CIRlA's value to
the industry:'
Dr Kerensky, who was accompanied by

his wife, said in reply, that he felt his time

with CIRIA had been very well spent, and he
had had nothing but pleasure in working
with its Council and membership.
He will serve for a further year as an'
ordinary member of the Council.

Mr F. J. (Jack) Parker has been appointed a

Director of W. S. Atkins and Partners. He
will take up the post of Head of the firm's
Transportation Engineering Division.
Mr Parker, who was elected to the Institution in 1969, was formerly a Partner with
Husband & Co.
Mr J. Mapplebeck, also a Member of this
Institution, is to join the Atkins Board.

Courses on Transportation
and Transport Engineering
The Institution's Transportation Board has
drawn up a list of universities and higher
educational establishments in the UK who
are organising highway and transportation
engineering courses. The list, which is
available free from the Institution, also
contains brief details on minimum entry
qualifications, career opportunities and the
number of places available on the course.

F.J. Parker

Book Review
lished and the low-level of existing provision
emphasised
the author
devotes
the
remainder of the book to detailed design of
bicycle facilities which could be incorporaThe fact that this book has been published
ted into urban areas throughout the UK. A
by a conservationist pressure group and not
short section on principles is followed by a
by a recognised technical body or author
longer, more detailed, consideration of the
should not be allowed to mislead the potencomponent parts of a cycle route network.
tial reader. This is not a book seeking to
Aspects covered are design standards,
press the case for cycles by means of
junction design, traffic control and barriers,
trendy catch phrases. Instead the case for
signing, cycle parking, mixing cyclists and
cycles is set out logically and is followed by
pedestrians
and
creating
complete
reasonably detailed planning and design
networks ..
principles for those' wishing to prepare
The book concludes with appendices
schemes for cyclists.
comprising a summary, a bibliography, and
Although one author is credited on the
extended description of all cycling facilities
title page, considerable contributions are
or proposals in the UK, an analysis of cycle
made by four other cycling experts. The
accidents in London, trip generation inforbook begins by setting out the background
mation and a key to traffic signs.
to the need for cycle provision, covering the
The title of the book is misleading. It does
growth of m'otor traffic, the advantages and
not attempt
to set out methods or
disadvantages of bicycles, interaction by
procedures necessary for planning
a
cars and cycles, the history of government
strategy for cycles. Instead the book is
policies, where these have existed, and the
devoted to the practical design of cycle
potential use of cycles particularly in conroutes. Ignoring planning strategy is a major
gested urban areas. This is followed by
omission in what is otherwise an excellent
statistical information on bicycle usage and
guide to the techniques available for
safety, in the latter
case identifying
preparing cycle route proposals. The range
apparent anomalies in the present method
of proposals for cycle route' provision and
of comparing accident rates.
careful attention to detail on technical
A chapter on cycle law attempts to clarify
aspects make this book one of the most
the present indistinct legal situation on the
useful documents of its kind yet published.
use of bicycles. Elsewhere in the book other
By more than adequately filling a wide gap
aspects of the law relating to cycles are
in the technical literature relating to the
mentioned. The author does not attempt to ,
design of transport facilities the book should
cover lack of clarity in the law but suggests
be in every transportlationl engineer's and
some amendments to legislation which
planner's library, and at less than [2 it will
would benefit cyclists.
not significantly increase any professional's
Having established
the background
overdraft .
against which cycle routes must be
For its clear style. ample illustrations,
considered, the author examines the "state
simplified and easily digestible statistics and
of the art" overseas, naturally paying
low cost this book could be supplied to
attention to countries which have done
, interested organisations and local authority
most for pedal power.
councillors as a prerequisite to political
This is followed by an uncomfortably
discussion.
short chapter on the level of provision in
K.R.
various towns in the UK. With need estab-

The Bicycle Planning Book. Mike Hudson.

Open Books Publishing Ltd and Friends of
the Earth. 154 pp. 1.95 (SDft backl.

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

THE JOURNAL

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

37

,
HIGHWAY AND
TRAFFIC TECHNICIANS
ASSOCIATION

Secretary:
Miss Judith Walker, SSe

.Branch representatives meeting

All UK Association
Branches except
Severnside, were represented at the 5th
annual Branch representatives meeting
held at St Stephen's Club, London, SW1
on Thursday,
July 6th. Mr Stephen
Chandler,
newly-elected
Association
Chairman, took the chair. Unlike previous
years the weather was not kind, but the
refreshments provided at the Club, and
members' good humour, 'made it another
very successful day.
~.Rrh ..

----,

Rr::lnf"h
-

-.-

nnmin::lt-.oc

Itn.
1'"

t"";

Branches can usefully emulate. A lively

debate ensued on the desirability
of
Branches organising purely social events.
On balance members felt there was much
to be said for technical visits -which
included a social element. There were
strong feelings that the Association's
Branches should strive to enhance the
prestige of technicians
and broaden
specialist staff's outlook through the provision of technical meetings of a high

Among the other items for. discussion

was an assessment of progress on the
Association's
recruitment
campaign.
Branches are in process of contacting
local employers
contractors,
consultants, all local authorities etc to draw
attention to the benefits which flow from
membership of the Association.
Head
office is, at the same time, circulating
national concerns.
Branch Committees will by now have
received full reports from their representatives and minutes of the day's proceedings. Members interested in obtaining
more detailed information than is carried
in this report should get in touch with
their local Branch Secretary.

Part-time degrees
Trent Polytechnic's part-time degree in
civil engineering, detailed in the August/
September, 1977 Journal, has received
CNAA approval. The first entry started
this month.
Members who may be considering
applying for the 1979 course should note
that candidates with HNC, but who have
not passed examinations in A 1 mathematics and geology and/or soil mechanics, will need to complete a preliminary'.
course.
Trent
propo~.es, _subject
to

Motors

On June 9th, 1978 30 members and

guests of the Eastern Branch visited
Vauxhall Motors. in the morning a tour of
the Millbrook Proving Ground was made.
The area covers some 700 acres and was
, reclaimed from a derelict brickworks clay
quarry. Amongst the facilities available to
Vauxhalls for proving and testing are a
two mile, five-lane circular test track; a
one mile straight with banked entry and
exits; a Belgian pave circuit, hill routes,
miles of country roads, fresh and salt
water troughs, a dust tunnel, an outdoor
crash test barrier and a cross-cou ntry

SUBSCRIPTIONS

~ 1978

A reminder was recently sent to members

in arrears with their subscriptions. Many
arrears are due to incorrect Bankers Order
which were not amended to the subscription rates introduced
last year. Please
check that your Bankers Order is correctly
made out.
Members registered as Technicians or
Technician
Engineers
with
the ERB
through the Association should note that
their registration will be deemed to have
lapsed if an amount is still outstanding on
their subscription
on September 30th,
1978.

Overseas members
demand, to run A 1 mathematics
and
geology
evening
classes during
the
coming
academic
year.
Successful
candidates will be permitted to commence
the part-time degree in civil engineering in
September, 1979.
Further information may be obtained
from: Mr J.P. Withers, Department of
Civil and Structural tngineering,
Trent
Polytechnic, Burton Street, Nottingham,
NG1 4BU, Nottinghamshire.
ITel: 0602
~2481.

Eastern Branch

ENGINEER

The fourth Institution

nominee to the
Association's Council is Mr E.L. Williams,
County Surveyor of Suffolk.
A profile of Mr Williams appeared in the
June, 1978 issue of the Journal when he
successfully stood for election to the
Institution's Council.

....

"

38 THE HIGHWAY

1978/79

hllu."

representatives, one of whom is often the

hard-working Branch Secretary, to attend
this annual meeting. Although the agenda
is usually very full the meeting is intended
to be a social occasion as well, allowing
delegates
to meet each other
and
exchange ideas and experiences. They
also allow Branches to relay their opinions
directly to Council and members are
usually very forthright. This year's representatives were no exception!
A recent Council Paper, "Guidelines for
Branch Development", was the main item
for discussion. The guidelines are a series
of suggestions, culled from the experience
of
the
most
well-established
Branches,
which
it is hoped
other

Visit to Vauxhall

-:j

Council members

route. With some exceptions the coach

carrying
the
party
negotiated
these
hazards. The exhaust emission laboratories were also visited and the party
found the tour very interesting
and
informative.
After travelling to Luton,
lunch was provided by' the company,
followed py a tour of the car production
lines where vehicles were seen from raw
sheet metal to the finished product. Most
members. found two aspects very striking,
first the organisation required to ensure
that the correct type of component
reached the production line at the right
time and secondly
the numbers
of
inspectors present at various stages to

In the May, 1978 issue of the Journal the

Institution of Highway Engineers announced that it would send the Journal airmail
to its overseas members. The Association
recently agreed to follow suit. The sea
mail service to some countries is very
poor and the Association's Council has
been concerned for some time to improve
the service it offers members overseas.
The new bulk airmail system will begin in
the autumn.

North-Eastern
Branch
A visit has been arranged to the Kielder
Dam and Reservoir works on Thursday,
September 21st at 2pm.
A bus may be provided.
Further details from: Mr Ivan Hudson,
47 Hareside, Cramlington,
Northumberland.
make certain the quality was being maintained.
After tea at the works the party left
having enjoyed a most entertaining day.
The visit can be highly recommended to
other Branches.

AUC;U$T /SEPTEMBER

1978

Profile

Rhodesian Branch

NOMINATIONS

FOR

CEI BOARD
M.j=.C. Wilrren
Yorkshire-born Mike Warren received his
primary schooling at Cardiff's Monkton
House
College
before
emigrating
to
Rhodesia in 1948,
He matriculated at Churchill School,
Salisbury in 1952 and went onto part-time
education
at Salisbury's
Polytechnic,
specialising in soil mechanics where he
gained an honours degree in this field.
After two years in tobacco farming
Mike joined the City Engineer's Department, City of Salisbury in 1954 as a Pupil,
and during
the following
five years
received a broadly~based training in all
phases of municipal engineering. However, his knowledge of soil mechanics led
to an appointment in the Materials Laboratory where he became Manager and subsequently Civil Engineering Technician in
charge of the Materials Section, directly
responsible
to
the
Chief
Assistant
Engineer,
Design
and
Construction
Division.
He acts as examiner and moderator in
materials technology for the Ministry of
Roads and Road Traffic and also for the
Board of Examiners for the Rhodesian
Government's Certificate of Competency
in Geotechnology.
Mike lias served for many years on
a number of Central African Standards
Association committees, both as the City
Engineer's and the Local Government
Association of Rhodesia's technical representative, dealing with the production of
various standards and codes of practice,
The present-day
City
01 Salisbury's
Manuals on Standard
Test Methods
Standard
Work
Forms and Standard
Designs and Specifications
were pro.
duced by him and are in general use by
the City Engineer's Department,
A founder member of HTTA's Rhodesian Branch he was elected Liaison Officer
to deal with matters relating to the
Rhodesian Institute of Engineers, Technician Division, of which
he is a past
national chairman and representative on
the RIE Council. He joined HTTA as an
Associate Member in 1975 and became
one of the Branch's first members to
attain Technician Engineer status through
the
Association's
Mature
Candidate
Scheme, resulting in his upgrading
to

North-Wales

1978

Warren

News in Brief:
Congratulations
are extended
by all
Rhodesian members to John Lester, the
Branch Honorary Secretary, and his wife
Gillian on the arrival
of their baby
daughter, Hillary. Hillary was born on
June 28th, 1978 at the Lady Chancellor
Maternity
Hospital,
Salisbury,
and
weighed 61bs3 ~ozs at birth. The Lester's
have another child, two year old Garth.
Steve Sprake, the Association's
first
overseas Chairman, has been elected an
Associate
Member
of the Rhodesian
Institute of ,Engineers. Congratulations to
Steve who again has made history by
becoming the first member within the civil
engineering field to do so, The Associate
Member is regarded as the higher grade
of Technician within the RIE structure.
Many thanks to IHE members who
supported the Branch's 'monthly
Sundowner held in the Jameson Hotel on the
last Friday of every month.

Branch

The first AGM of the North Wales Branch

was held at The Rhos Abbey Hotel, Rhoson-Sea, Colwyn Bay, Clwyd on Friday,
May 19th, 1978. In his report, the Chairman outlined the work that had been
carried out by the Committee during the
year. Miss Judith Walker, the Association's Secretary, then gave an interesting
talk on the work nationally of the Association.
After the formal business two films on
traffic management
were shown
and
refreshments served.
The following members were elected to
office:

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

M.F.C,

Fellow and subsequent registration with

the ERB in 1977.
A member of the Rhodesian Territorial
Army until 1964, at which time he transferred
to the Air
Force, Volunteer
Reserve, he now holds the commissioned
rank of Flight Lieutenant
serving as
Second in command of a squadron.
A happily-married man with two young
children, Blair and Alison, Mike and his
English-born
wife
Patricia
share
a
common interest in home and family
activities.

Chairman:
J.W.A. Evans
Vice-Chairman:
K.C. Ronan
Treasurer;
D. Lancaster
Secretary:
A.J. Kendrick
Committee:
D, Northam; J. Ferguson;
, J. Williams; p, Rose; D. Kirby

CORRECTION
It is regretted that on page 30 of the
June, 1978 issue of the Journal the name
of the North of Scotland Branch Secretary was misspell. It should have been Mr
Roy Millett.

THE JOURNAL

One of the fundamental

changes
brought about by granting the Supplemental Charter and By-Laws to the
Council of CEI is in the composition of
the Board.
The Board currently comprises the
Chairman, Immediate Past-Chairman
Chairmen of Committees
and on~
representative
for' each of the .16
Chartered
Engineering
Institutions,
under the new By-Laws there are to be
as many elected Individual Members
(that is, chartered engineers) of the
Board, as there are representatives of
the Chartered Engineering Institutions,
The By-Laws prescribe that the
elected members of the Board shall be
elected by Individual Members of CEI
and in accordance with the regulations
covering
the
election
of
Board
members the Council is now caning for
nominations for 16 places which have
to be filled in the first election. If there
are more than 16 candidates properly
nominated, it will be necessary lor a
ballot to be held and voting papers will
be sent to all individual members. Each
Chartered Engineer will have one vote
and the voting papers will, in addition
to details of the candidates and the
nominators, give details of how the
votes will be counted, The only restriction on the nomination of an Individual
Member is that he shall not be a paid
official of CEI, the ERS, a Chartered
Engineering Institution or an Affiliate,
Chartered Engineers are invited to
seek nomination to the Board and to
support other candidates in this first
important election. A nomination form
is available from this Institution
or
from the Chief Official, CEI, 2 Little
Smith Street, London, SW1.

To be valid nominations

must:

(1) be delivered either by post or by

hand to the Chief Official at the
above address by 1200 hours, on
Monday, October 16th, 1978.
12) give the full name of the Individual
Member standing as a candidate,
his address, the name of each
Chartered Engineering Institution
or Affiliate
of which
he is a
corporate member, the nature of
his occupation,
age, and brief
biographical details in not more
than 150 words and the agreement
of the ca nd ida te to serve if elected.
13) be supported
by 15 Individual
Members of CEI each of whom
must sign the nomination form and
state the name or each Corporation Member of Affiliate of which
he is a Corporate Member.

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS 39

North-Western Branch
Annual

General

Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the

North-Western Branch was held at the
Lord Daresbury Hotel on May 24th, 1978.
The Chairman, Derek South, welcomed
the Association's Secretary, Miss Judith
Walker. Officers elected for 1978179 were:
Chairman;
D. Timberlake
Secretary;
P.J. Shufflebottom
Treasurer:
P.O. Westcott
Judith Walker, in her address, outlined
the further development of the Association and discussed training and qualifications which stimulated a lengthy and
lively debate.
The meeting concluded with a showing
of the John Cleese film "Meetings Bloody
Meetings" which was both informative
and entertaining.

Thames Branch

guests attended. Following coffee provided by the quarry owners, Thos. W.

. Ward (Roadstonel Ltd., the morning was
spent inspecting the two quarry workings
and after lunch [again provided by the
company I a tour of the concrete works
was made; the products being produced
ranged from porous pipes and manhole
chamber rings of various sizes to kerbs,
flags and, of course, non-slip flags.
The Branch thanks Thos. W. Ward
(Roadstonel Ltd and its managers and
staff at Shap for a most enjoyable visit.
Future Events
September 15th, 1978:
Day visit to asphalt plant at Salford and
SBl}d quarry at Oakmere at the invitation
of Val de Travers Asphalte Ltd.
October 11th, 1978:

nT~u:i1;iig/Educatkjii:
Shap Granite
The Branch visited the Shap Granite
Quarry and concrete works in Cumbria on
Friday, June 23rd, 1978, 22 members and

South-Western
Visit to the Tamar

="

These

Vila;

Resources".
Paper by R.B. Rogers,
MHTTA, Manchester College of Building.
Further details from Mr Philip Shufflebottom, 7 Danebank Road, Witton Park,
Northwich, Cheshire.

Branch

Bridges

On Tuesday, July 5th, 1978 70 members

and guests of the South-Western Branch
made a visit to two adjacent. bridges
crossing the River Tamar between Saltash
Bild Plymouth.
The
Brunei
railway
bridge
was
inspected in the morning, the guide being
Mr Deboo, a member of the British Rail,
Plymouth District Civil Engineer's Office.
This imposing structure, named the
Royal Albert Bridge, was opened in 1859,
giving Cornwall its first rail connection to
the rest of the country. The bridge
consists of two main 455ft spans .. These
two spans are made" by large trusses each
56ft in height. The top is an arched tube
giving an outward .thrust counterbalanced
by the inward drag of the lower suspension chains. The trusses were floated into
position and lifted to be supported at the
centre by steel c01umns rising from an
iron cylinder foundation, 37ft in diameter
and 75ft in height, sunk upright in midriver.
Members of the South-Western
across the Tamar River

The party was given full access to all

parts of the trusses by walking across the
deck through the arch tube and back on
top of the arch tube. Having made a close
inspection of this impressive structure
which was Brunei's last, the party felt ~
great admiration
for this engineer's
originality and skill.
The afternoon afforded members an
opportunity to inspect the road suspension bridge built lOa years later. Once
again the inspection was most thorough,
using the maintenance catwalks under the
road deck and climbing up the inside of
the 240ft high main towers to the
suspension cable saddles. The party was
also allowed to inspect the cable anchorage points.
The bridge was opened to traffic in
1961and was the longest span bridge of
any type in England. It comprises a
1,1ooft main span and side spans of 374ft,
a total 1,848ft suspended length.
Mr Mather, the Bridge Manager and Mr

Branch of the Association

at the Royal Albert Bridge

.

Members and guests enjoyed a very

interesting visit to British Rail Eastern
Region Electric Motive Power Depot at
Hornsey, London, N8 on Saturday, July
15th. It is a pity that more did not attend.
The next. meeting will combine the
AGM with a visit to the Oartford Town
Centre Distributor Road Northern link.
The date for the visit "is Wednesday,
September 20th, 1978 at 2.00pm. Refreshments will be provided.
Contact
the Branch Secretary
for
further details; Mr Kelvin Reynolds, 29
Riverview Road, Greenhithe, DA9 9NJ,
Kent.

APPOINTMENTS
Roaer Nvman. FHTTA h;!!': mnvp.n frnm
Havant BC to' become' Assistant Waste
Disposal Officer. Hampshire CC.
Michael Cook. MTT A, has moved from
North Yorkshire CC to West Yorkshire CC
to become Assistant Engineer, Private
Street Works Section, Department of
Highways Maintenance.
John
Sedgwick,
MHTTA,
has been
appointed Technician in the Borough
Engineer's Office, Scunthorpe BC.
Edward
Painter,
FHTTA, has a new
position with Clwyd CC, that of Assistant
Area Surveyor, Abergele Area 1.
Rhodesia

Branch

Richard Stuart, Brian Colquhoun, Hugh

O'Donnell and Partners, has been transferred to the company's Johannesburg
offices in South Africa.
Peter
Bradshaw
and
family
are
emigrating to the UK. Peter will be leaving
the City Engineer's Department, City of
Salisbury, to take up an appointment with
British Aluminium Co., Twickenham.
Barrie Heptonstall,
a member of the
Institution,
and a Senior
Assistant
Engineer with Salisbury's City Engineer's
Department, and family are also moving
to the UK, after which he anticipates
taking up an appointment on contract
work in the Middle East.
Lynch, Plymouth City Engineer's Department, were the guides for the afternoon.
They furnished the visit with answers to
questions about traffic flows over the
bridge which, in 19n, were over .four
times the 1962 figure.
~~o notable engineering achievements,
a VISitto go into Branch records and to be
remembered by all concerned.
Next Meet!ng
The next Branch meeting will be on
October 23rd, 1978 at County Hall, Exeter.
The subject will be insurance claims and
the police role in traffic management.
OBITUARY

~;j~;,.:...~::~_.1::~
.~~ ..':
_ ,.;a

...

40 THE HIGHWAY

?'"-f .: ....

ENGINEER

Council has learned with much regret of

the death
of Mr
F.S.A.
Pyett
of
Hoddesdon, Chilterns Branch (Fellow],

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

Smith,
L.R. [Civil Engineer Technician
inghamshire CCI
Spencer. l. [TeChnician DerbYShire eCI

Election of members
Total Mambership
19th JULY, 1978

1,870

FellQws
Allen, M,O. (Technician Gateshead MBCI
Appleton.
P. {Highway Technician Langbaurgh
BC)
Bapty, W. (Senior,Technician. Bradford MC)
Binns, R. (Technician, South Yorkshire CCI
Bleathman,
P.R. (Works Unit Technician West
Sussex CC)
Bowden, P.G. [Engg. Technician LB of Hackneyl
Brawn, J. (Engg. Assistant Waking BCl
Broadley. R.A. (Senior Technician West Yorkshire
MCC!
Brown. G.D. (Assistam Resident Engineer, High.
land Reg. Council)
Brown. G.W. (Laboratory Technician. Cumbria
CCI
Clark, T.G. (Engg. Technician N. Tyneside MBCI
Chamberlain,
K.J. (Senior Technician, Traffic
Design. Leicester Ce)
Davies. P.J. (Technician Swansea CCI
Edwards. J.D. (Sen;Ol Technician, Avon Counw
Council)
Gunn. N.J. [Technician Highland Regional
Cou ncil)
Holdsworth.
M.R. {Senior Technician. West
Yorkshire CCI
liaz-Ur.Rehman
(Laboratory Technician, Libyan
Joint Stock)
Ireson, Miss M.A. [Engineer [Traffic Engineering)
West Midlands CCI
Leonard. R.1. (Higher Technician Huntington DCI
Mathie. J. (Civ. Engg. Technician Strathclyde
Regional Council)
Maw. K.J."(ehief Materials Engineer. Steelphalt)
May, S.W. (Senior Civ. Engineer Technician.
Birmingham DC)
.
Moloughney,
K.M. (Civil Engineering Technician.
Bucks CC. Engg. Dept)

Buck-

Members
Barwell, R.l. (Technician/Inspector.
Lincolnshire
CC)
Brett, A. (Technician Bury MB)
Coffey, J.G. (2-I-C Design Team Military Plant
Officerl
Doublesin.
R. {Civil Engg. Tech., R. Travers
Morgan and partnersl
Elphlck. W. G. {Tech Assistant Delyn BCI
Gahan. R.J. [Trainee Technician, Leicestershire
CCI
Gray. L.S. (Tech. Asst. (Engg) LB of Camden)
Grindley, W.J. (Engg. Asst/Techn., Chester CC)
Gutteridge,
A.C. (Engg. Technician. Dacorum

Neave. B.E. (Technician Engineer - R. Travers

Morgan & Partners)
Parker,
S.E. (Senior
Highways
Technician.
Mersayside CCI
Randsll. S.J. [Civil Engineering Tech., HertfOldShire CCl
Roberts,
J. [Higher Traffic Technician West
Midlands CC)
Rose. A. [Engineering Assistant Derby CCI
Scranage. W.L. iSenior Engg. Assistant. Somerset eCI
Seaman. A.J. (Higher'l eChnician Essex CCI
Taylor.
G.B. ISenior Technician
R. Travers
Morgan and partnersl
Taylor. R.D. (Senior Technician, West Yorkshire
MCCI
Vause, J.D. (Technician Cheshire CCI
Walker. C.R. (Highways Technician R. Tfavers
Morgan and Partnersl
Wickham. 1.0. (Senior Technician DerbYShire CCI

DCI
Jackson. K. [Staff Sgt .. 62 Cyprus Sp Sqn REI
McDermott,
S.W. {Transportation
Technician
Cambridgeshire CCI
Perrottet, C. (Civil Engineering Technician Buckinghamshire CCI
Spencer, B. (Director Civil Technics (PvtJ Ltd,
Rhodesia)
Summerell. M.J. (Senior Technician Gloucestershire eCI
Wilcock. N.D. {Engg Tech Bolton MaCI
Wilkes. N.W. (Technician Hereford and Worcester
CCI
Young, R. {Staff Sgt. RSME, Chatham)

Transfer from Member ro Fellow

Andrews. I.e. [SeniOl Techn;cian Devon eCI
Berratt, A.G. [Senior Technician Devon CC)
Betty. M.J . (Tech nician (Development) So merset
CCI
Brown. L.A. (Technician LB of Lewishaml
Campbell.
M.1. (Engg. Technician, Gateshead
MBe. Engg Service Deptl
Edwerds, G.A. (Technician Bucks CCl
Hay,
LT. (Civil Engg Technician,
Highland
Regional Council)
Jubb. E. (Senior Technician West Yorkshire RCUI
lemon. D.G. [Technician Buckingham CCl
Matthews,
C.J. (Technical
Assistant. North
Wolds BCl
Oaten, P.B. (Technician Avon CCI
Partridge.
A.J.
(Sen Tech
Hereford
and
Worcestershire CCI
Pugh, A.W. (Assistant Area Surveyor. Clwyd CC)
Ouinn. T.J. (Civil Engineer Technician Buckinghamshirel

TrBnsfer from Student Member to Member

Roberts, P.M. [Engineering Assistant, NW.RCUI
Assoc,are Members
Bentham.
G. iContracts
Manager.
Wimpey
Asphalt International)
Dowie.
R.P. (Materials Engineers. Bovis Civil
Engg. Ltdl
Students
Lee, J.W. (Highway Technician, South Yorkshire
CC)
Lucas. M.J. (Highway Technician Sheffield DCl
Tatham, S.1. (Trainee Technician. South Yorkshire

ee)

TIE ORDER
The British Code of Advertising
Practice sets out the major cans and can'ts
of press, poster, cinema and direct mail
advertising.

To: The Secretary,

THE HIGHWAY AND TRAFFIC
TECHNICIANS
ASSOCIATION

3 Lygon
London,

Its basic requirements are that

all advertisements should be legal, decent,
honest and truthful. So if after reading it
you see one which isn't, send us a clipping
or as many details as you can.

Please
at

supply

........ Association

(1.35

Gfeen

Cheque/Postal
Order/Money
Order for
L.........enclOSEd and crossed and made
payable to 'The Highwav and Traffic

Technicians Association'.

The Advertising

NAME

,
(BLOCK

CAPITALS

ADDRESS

I.

To: The Advertising Standa rds Autho rity Li mite~

15/17 Ridgmount Street. London
I E 7AW Please send
methe main pointsol your Code, free.

Name

Grade

Date

~tCOd:.:..
A company limited by guarantee.
Registered
above.

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER 1978

PLEASE)

we

Address

tiers)

0
0
0

Blue
Maroon

You can get the main points of our

Code free simply by filling in and posting
the coupon below.

Standards Authorfty

Place. Ebury Street.

SWl

in England No.

1064239. Registered oflice as

Price includes VAT

THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERS 41

Highway Design Staff

Senior
Engineer

Assistant
Engineer

Technicians

East
Grinstead
Office

Consulting Engineers require senior

Chartered Engineer with substantial
experience in direct design of a
major highway project. The successful
applicant will be required to
co-ordinate a large deSign team and
will have had proven experience in
this rOle.
An assistant 'engineer is required to
be responsible for group activities in
highway design. In the first instance
the person appointed will be required
to develop detai led drainage design
but there will be opportunity to widen
responsibility.
A Graduate or Chartered' Engineer
with at least 3 years' experience in this
work will be suitable.
Vacancies exist for junior and senior
techicians in all aspects of highway
r1oci,.,n
............. ~...
The posts will be based at our East
Grinstead Office. Salary will be related
to experience; benefits include flexible
working hours, Christmas bonus and
20 days holiday per year. Assistance
with removal will be considered in
appropriate cases.

Please apply in writing, giving details of experience, to:R. K. A. Allam,

R. TRAVERS MORGAN & PARTNERS,

RTM House, 10-16 Cantelupe Road,

East Grinstead, Sussex, RH1.93BJ

University

Of Newcastle

ili

.~

rio"

....

"

upon Tyne

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

WE'RE PUBLISHING A
NEW LIST OF MEMBERS
FOR 1975fl9
A new edition of the List of Members, covering
be published this autumn and will
contain the names, grades and addresses of nearly
9,000 Institution members. A new method of compiling
the List will enable it to be updated until nearer the
time that it goes to press, this will obviously add to its
use as a long-term reference work.
The List will include information on the background,
activities and administration of the Institution, together
with details on Branch boundaries and Committees
and Council membership.
CcuncH isgrat that it is necessary to make Ci charge
of 3.00 for the List to offset the large printing,
production and postage bills which a detailed work of
this nature involves.
The list is the only one of its kind produced solely
for highway engineers and it is therefore of unique
value to members of the profession.
If you wish to receive a copy of the new List please
complete the order form below and return it 'to the
Secretary, The Institution of Highway Engineers, 3
Lygon Place, Ebury Street, London, SW1 as soon as
possible to ensure your edition.
The print order for the List will be tied closely to
cover only those orders received as the List goes to
press; it is unlikely, therefore, that there will be
sufficient extra copies to cover those members who do
not order the publication in advance.

1978fl9 will

TRANSPORT OPERATIONS RESEARCH GROUP

Applications are invited for the post of Deputy Director of the
Transport Operations Research Group in the Department of Civil
Engineering. The appointment will be offered. initially. as a fixed-term
contract to 31st December 1980.
The Transport Operations Research Group. which is part of the
Division of Transport Engineering, undertakes studies in four main fields:
- Urban Traffic Control
- Freight Movemenl
- Public Transport Operations
- Traffic Safety and Environment
The successful applicant should be familiar with current developments
in all these fields but will have particular responsibilities for the last two.
The main duties will include negotiation of grants and contracts.
management and superviSion of research work in hand and preparation
of reports and publications. A significant contribution to the academic .
work Of the Division will be expected.
Applicants should have broad managerial/research experience
backed by a good Honours (or Higher) Degree in a discipline relevant to
Transport. Previous experience of academic research is desirable but
knowledge 01 the slructure and operation of the transport industry is
particularly sought; as is skill in communicating ideas in both verbal and
written lorm.
Salary will be at an appropriate point on Grade III (7074.8730 per
annum. under review) according to age. experience and qualifications.
Membership of the Universities' Superannuation Scheme will
be required.
Further particulars about the post, and lhe conditions of service
relating to it, may be obtained from the Registrar, The University,
Newcastle upon Tyne NEI 7RU. The closing date for applications (3
copies) together wilh the names and addresses of three referees, is 15th
September ,978.

42 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

I enclose postal order/cheque/money

order for .. ....
made payable to The Institution
of Highway
Engineers. Please send me ...... copy(ies) of the list
of Members 1978fl9 on publication.
NAME

.
GRADE

ADDRESS

DATE

1978

A photocopy

of this
advertisement
can be
returned to the Institution
if you do not wish to
cut your issue of the Journal

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1978

LElTERS TO THE EDITOR

From Mr Peter Kay
University of Bradford
The Legal Framework
Sir - Mr Woodhouse's reply to my letter
("The Highway Engineer", rv'Iarch, 1978)
is a remarkable attempt to obscure the
issue.
I never suggested that the Rules were
made under the 1959 Highway Act. It
does not in any case matter which Act
they were made under - subordinate
legislation (such as Sl Rules) is ultra vires
if it conflicts with any Act.
Mr Woodhouse's main argument seems
to be that the Highways Inquiry Rules
must be all right merely because other
Rules [for different types of Inquiries)
have been made under the Tribunals and
Inquiries Act 1971, incorporating the same
provisions. There can be no force in this
argument - the Rules may be made
under the same Act, but the different
types of inquiry are all held under
different Acts, so there is no guarantee
that any Rule can satisfactorily be applied
in identical form to all types of Inquiry.
,In his last paragraph Mr Woodhouse
contradicts himself. He says: "It is not
agreed that the [Highway Inquiries) Rules
introduce a restriction which did not
appear before. Prior to the making of the
Rules there were no specific provisions as
to appearance at {Highways Inquiries!.
The 1976 Rules regulate the position."
In other. words, there was a change
from a state where there were no specific
provisions as to appearance, to a state
where
there were
provisions
which
restricted
appearance.
If that is not
"introducing
a restriction which did not
appear before" then language has ceased
to have any meaning.
Yours faithfully,
Peter Kay
Mr Woodhouse replies: In reply to Mr Kay
and also to Mr Sullivan and Mr Pedley,
whose letters were published in the June
issue of the Journal, I would point out
that with reference to the relationship
between the Highways Act 1959 and the
Highways
(Inquiries
Procedurel
Rules
1976 (SI No.72l1 not every objection
under the former places on the Secretaries of State an obligation to hold a local
inquiry. Apart from objections from the
various statutory bodies, only objections
from "any other person appearing to him
to be affected" (paragraphs 5 and 9 in
Schedule 1 to the 1959 Act) can give rise
to this obligation. The Procedure Rules
reflect th is. I do not accept the sta tement
that there is no authority in the 1959 Act
(so far as this is relevant) for the
provisions in the Procedure Act.
In practice a road scheme will involve a
compulsory purchase order in all but the
most trivial cases. In most, if not all cases
involving action under the Town and
Country Planning !Inquiries Procedure)
Rules 1974 where the status of "section
29 parties" is relevant, there will be no

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

question of compulsory purchase action.

Therefore
I do not agree with
the
argument that road scheme cases are in
no sense analogous to CPO cases. There
is an analogy. Indeed, in many cases, the
proceedings on the scheme or order
under the Highways Act 1959 and the
CPO are taken concurrently.
The practical way in which Mr Sullivan's concerns are dealt with is indicated
in paragraphs 44 and 45 of the Report of
the Review of Highway Inquiry Procedures (Cmd 71331 presented to Parliament by the Secretaries of State for
Transport and the Environment. These
paragraphs read as follows:
"44. The Government believes that noone having a legitimate and material point
to raise at the inquiry should be denied a
hearing. But some discretion must be left
to the Inspector to refuse to hear any
person who merely wishes to reiterate at
length arguments already put by others or
to raise points irrelevant to the proposal
before the inquiry. If an unrestricted right
to be heard were conceded then any
organisation
implacably
opposed
to
motorway or trunk road building of any
kind could invite every one of its members
to object and demand the right to be
heard on substantially the same point.
The procedure rules reflect this and give
only certain classes of objectors
broadly statutory bodies and individuals
who are closely affected by the scheme
an express right to appear at an
inquiry. But in practice Inspectors make
no distinction between statutory and nonstatutory objectors in this respect.
"45. The rights of objectors have,
however, been the subject of controversy.
To put the question beyond doubt the
Government will publish its guidance to
Inspectors
about
the importance
of
affording a hearing to anyone wanting to
appear at the inquiry who has something
relevant to say which
is not merely
repetitious or obstructive. This advice will
also be included in the written material
sent to objectors. But the Government
considers that, in the last resort, the
Inspector must retain power to refuse to
hear anyone who has no real standing in
the matter and is simply intent on
delaying or disrupting the proceedings.
Inspectors will receive the full support of
the Government in this respect."
From; Mr R.J. Bridle (Fellow)
Chief Highway Engineer
Department of Transport
Driver Training
Sir - I intended to generate correspondence 1n the Journal about driver training
and safety and I have certainly done so.
The Institution's Transportation Board are
taking up safety as a particular theme and
the correspondence will be of interest to
them.
However, I did hope that all the letters
would be rational. What the Board will
make of Mr Leeming's response ("The
Highway Engineer", May, 19781 1 cannot
imaginel Obviously I do not deserve the
eminence he assigns me because I cannot
make sense of the assertions he makes. If
I had not started the correspondence I
would not bother to reply so this is my
final shot, and I am content for Mr

THE JOURNAL

Leeming, if he wishes, to have the last

word - rational or not.
If I understand the generality of his
case he professes to be convinced that
any fall in road accidents is due to road
improvements and any rise due to wellintentioned
but
counter-productive
legislation. I doubt whether readers will be
persuaded by such an irrational proposition but I also doubt that any argument
will persuade Mr Leeming to recant.
Although I suppose he sees me as the
heretic.
I shall therefore only say that my
synopsis of the work of Shaw and Sichel
was as balanced as any precis can be and
that African bus drivers are human. So far
as drinking and driving is concerned I
merely refer readers to the Slemmerhassett Report findings that:
(al the' Road Safety' Act saved 1000
lives in the first year and 4000 lives
in later years;
(bl the fall in casualties was largely
accounted for by a fall of one third
in accidents between 10pm and

4am;
(cl the proportion of drivers killed in
accidents who were over the legal
limit fell from 25 per cent before the
Act to 15 per cent afterwards.
Would Mr Leeming believe it reasonable to attribute
these effects to the
opening of the Severn Bridge?
Now the causation of road accidents is
a complex matter and so correspondingly
is the evaluation of the effects of accident
prevention
measures.
Mr
Wilson's
questions ("The Highway Engineer" May
1978) are therefore relevant as are his
suggestions for research and I hope that
TRRL will enter the correspondence to
identify the main difficulties in research,
and their proposals for work in the field. I
hope that correspondence will then concern itself with contributing
to understanding
by questions
about
results
quoted, additional rational interpretations
which may be placed on results, and
suggestions for additional work or policies
based on existing knowledge.
I also hope that interested readers may
like to send the original Paper ("The
Highway Engineer", December, 1977) and
the resulting correspondence
to those
with
related
interests
beyond
our
immediate field, those engaged in psychological and sociological
studies,
the
police, driving schools and the like so that
the journal may bear the views of a sub.
stantial
cross-section
of learned and
practically
experienced
interests.
The
Institution
can then
generate
some
serious discussion of casualty trends and
space in the Journal will not be wasted.
Yours faithfully,
R.J. Bridle

From; Mr E. Thwaites (Fellow)

Honorary Secretary of the
Institution,
1932.34
City Centres
Sir - It is a long time ago since I read in
volume 1, number 1 of the highway
engineers' journal that, with two other
Londoners, I had attended the second

OF THE INSTITUTION

OF HIGHWAY

ENGINEERS

43

quarterly meeting of the Institution. Still

reading the Journal I was delighted to see
Mr Mcilroy putting the case, unpopular as
it is, correctly and fairly in "One Man's
View".
("The
Highway
Engineer",
February, 19781.
The rise in living standards in the last
200 years has come from the increased
ability to move one's self and goods
quickly and freely from one place to
another for only this has enabled the
many inventions and increased scientific
knowledge to be used.
The toll road network of MacAdam and
Telford, reinforced by canals, gave us a
sta rt but from then on t he vested interest
of rural landlords and later the railways,
assisted by most people's dislike of
change, rapidly prevented effective use of
the roads.
The first steam horses preceded the
railways and were soon stopped by the
red flag law and takeovers of weak
companies by the railways caused both
networks to be destroyed by 1900.
The fO!".A!E!rd-!ookina
I.ihp.ral govern.
ment of 1906 with a political outlook
believing in change and new methods for
the good of the people saw the necessity
of repairing the damage and created the
Road Fund and undertook that the fuel
tax and motor licences should only be
used for improving our roads. They were
well served by their first Chief Engineer,
Colonel Crompton, our first President,
whose vision and plans were checked in
the early 1930s. The North Orbital Road
around London has still to be built.
The propaganda against roads had
effect when the Road Fund was first
raided in 1926 by a Conservative Chancellor breaking
the original government
pledge. When conducting
a raid the
following year he said he was not going
to allow road transport to threaten the
railway monopoly created by the 1923
Act. The first Road and Rail Traffic Act,
1930 was sold to the public as a safety act
but in fact it was an Act to protect
railways against competition. The propaganda has continued, except during the
war, and to a greater degree since public
services have been nationalised.
The
railways are even allowed to use television
advertising.
Both the railways and public road
services are far too big to be efficient and
there is little doubt that the misuse of the
original act and its successors has contributed to the fall in the country's earning
capacity to no small extent and must be
repealed .
The need to restore to the individual
the right to move himself and his goods
freely and to provide services to others to
do both is absolute. These must exist in
the city centres with adequate parking
rights at viable costs or free on sites.
It is unfortunate that highway engineering is treated as a rather minor part of civil
engineering and I am amazed at the few
engineers who know much of Leeming's
work on accidents and the changes in the
law which are required .
It is unfortunate that few planners have
never had to sell the estates they plan
and, like architects, are governed by
fashion. Both tend to an academic rather
than a realistic approach.
The results in London make the mind

44 THE HIGHWAY

ENGINEER

boggle. They have succeeded in creating

a massive housing shortage, while reducing the population by 40 per cent since
1939 when there were enough homes,
and more and more restrictive movement.
Politicians are usually not experts and
so are in the power of the chief officers.
While I know it is difficult,
since the
majority of highway engineers are civil or
municipal servants or are employed by
contractors, there is no doubt far more
highway engineers should be in politics if
only as members of local associations
briefing the elected representatives on the
need for unrestricted
movement
and
roads.

perception of the bend. The divergence

necessitated solely by the absence of a
transitional entry is so small that it can be
accommodated within a minimal carriageway widening, or ignored.
Debate such as this between protagonists of va rious tra nsition theories has
extended over at least 40 years (Sir
Francis exceptedJ. Clearly many of us
consider the topic important. Is it not
about time, then, that the Department of
Transport itself carried out some research
to establish which transition curves, if
any, are necessary? Some authoritative
and rational guidance i~ long overdue.

,
I

"

Yours faithfully,
Yours faithfully,
O. Stewart
E. Thwaites
From Mr D. Stewart (Memberl
Principal Engineer
Traffic Management and Road Safety
Grampian RC
Transition

Curves. Is There A Cure?

Sir 'Obviously
the engineer
can
produce a much safer alignment by introducing transition curves .. .' repeats Mr
Lofthouse (Letters to the Editor, "The
Highway Engineer", June, 1978), But now
he also reveals the evidence which I
requested; "Novum Organum" by Francis
Bacon, 1620. Presumably the difficulty of
metricating
cubits explains
Mr Lofthouse's reluctance to provide similar
justification for his adoption of a 1m shift.
It is unfortunate that archive research
appears to have left Mr
Lofthouse
insufficient time to assimilate "The Case
of the Left-Hand Bend" ("The Highway
Engineer, June, 1977). Had he done so he
would have found that drivers diverge
from the line of a bend not simply
"because they were unable to follow the
design alignment ... " The reasons are
more complex. Divergence seems to be
applied primarily to minimise sideways
force, irrespective of whether the alignment is circular, transitional or compound,
but I also speculated that it improves

Mr Lofthouse

replies:

Mr Stewart chooses to be flippant about

the source of a quotation rather than to
accept his own evidence in support of
spiral transition curves on bends.
Divergence on the approach to a
cir<::ul<!r henn enables drivers to reduce
the rate of gain of sideways force by
converging onto the circular bend along a
transitional path. However any divergence
or convergence which encroaches on the
minimum safe clearance from' the edge or
centre line of the carriageway is dangerous. The
Department
of
Transport
Manual on Driving states that drivers
should keep well to the left, slowing down
as necessary, on both left-hand
and
right-hand bends. On a bend having spiral
transition curves with one metre of shift
drivers of cars, coaches and heavy goods
vehicles are encouraged to;(a) keep left even when travelling at the
maximum design speed of the bend as
the rate of gain of sideways force on their
vehicles, passengers and loads is reasonable for comfort
and stability,
being
directly proportional to the rate of gain of
centripetal acceleration 10.65m/s' at the
maximum design speed of the bend);
Ibl slow down as necessary by avoiding
any deception in their perception of the
severity of the bend.
This correspondence
is now closed.

AUTUMN

COURSES 1978:

2 OCTOBER -

15 NOVEMBER

PRTC's Autumn series of mid-career training courses

transportation and highway engineers will be held as follows:Administration of Engineering Contracts

2-4 October

Planning Inquiries

9-11 October

Highway Maintenance

17-20October

An Operational Approach to Traffic Management

Transportation Planning Practice
Advanced Road Design COBA
Traffic Modelling for Highway Engineers

for

23.27 October

30 October-2 November
6-7 November
8-10 November

'The Application of Research to Public Transport

13-15 November
New Course
A leaflet giving details of these courses is available from Jean
Ettridge or Louise Richards, PTRC Education and Research Services
Limited, 109 Bedford Chambers, King Street, London WC2.
Telephone: 01-8362208.

AUGUST ISEPTEMBER

1978

I '

/'

. ,

.,........e1

ACTIONS SPEAK
LOUDER THAN WORDS
I

Gleeson's,
one of
the
largest
civil
engineering contractors in this country, are
now actively engaged in the construction of
a section of the M25 orbital motorway
between
Westerham
and
Sundridge
(Sevenoaks) Kent. Illustrated is some of the
heavy plant being used on this project.

Whether it be the construction

of a
motorway, dam or reservoir you can relv on
Gleeson's expertise,
workmanship
and
rellabHity.
Client:
Department of Transport, South Eastern Road
Construction Unit

GLEESO~

Gleeson Civil Engineering Limited

(Managing Director: B. Pattenden, B.Sc., F.I.C.E., F.I.W.E.S.1

'" membet'

01 the GllIIISOn Group 01 Companies

Haredon House, London Road, North Cheam, Surrey. Tel: 01-3376688

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. Printed by Sparta Press (Blackfen)

Ltd., Blackfen Road, Sidcup, Kent.