Maintaining and Strengthening the UK’s Highway Infrastructure

The UK’s roads, bridges, tunnels, and culverts form the backbone of national connectivity — supporting commerce, travel, and everyday life. As this vital infrastructure continues to age under ever-increasing traffic demands, effective highway maintenance and bridge repair have never been more important. Around the world, recent bridge failures and large-scale strengthening projects serve as a reminder of the critical need for planned maintenance, inspection, and rehabilitation to protect public safety and extend asset life.

Understanding Structural Deterioration

All concrete highway structures experience deterioration over time, typically caused by corrosion of steel reinforcement, chloride attack, and water ingress. In Northern Europe, where winter road salts accelerate these mechanisms, the challenges are even greater. Early identification and treatment of defects are essential to ensure that bridges, culverts, and tunnels remain structurally sound, durable, and compliant with their intended design life.

CRL’s Proven Expertise in Highway Structure Repair

With more than 70 years of experience, CRL is recognised as one of the UK’s leading specialists in bridge repair, strengthening, and refurbishment. Our multidisciplinary teams combine technical excellence with innovative thinking to deliver cost-effective, sustainable engineering solutions across the transport sector. From condition surveys and inspections to structural strengthening and concrete rehabilitation, we offer a complete service for the assessment, protection, and enhancement of highway assets.
Through Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) and close collaboration with our clients, we ensure every project is delivered efficiently, safely, and with minimal disruption to road users.

Our Services and Capabilities

All works on concrete structures are delivered in accordance with BS EN 1504, the European Standard for concrete repair and protection.
Our core services include:

• • Concrete Repair & Rehabilitation: Hand-applied mortars, sprayed concrete (gunite), or flowable self-compacting concrete for large-volume restoration.

  • Corrosion Control & Protection: Advanced cathodic protection systems and corrosion inhibitors to maximise durability and reduce whole-life costs.

  • Structural Strengthening: Use of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites and stainless-steel reinforcement systems to restore and enhance load-bearing capacity.

  • Masonry Bridge & Tunnel Repair: Strengthening through embedded stainless-steel anchors, resin grouting, and internal lining systems to improve waterproofing and stability.

Trusted by National Highways

CRL’s reputation for quality and reliability is reflected in our long-term partnerships across the UK road network. We currently hold National Highways SDF Frameworks in Areas 1, 2, 7, 9, 10, and 12, and have recently completed a £10 million programme of concrete repair and cathodic protection works on the A19. These achievements demonstrate our ability to deliver safe, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure repairs that keep the UK’s highways operating at peak performance.

Leading the Way in Highway Maintenance and Bridge Rehabilitation

As one of the UK’s foremost highway maintenance and bridge repair contractors, CRL is committed to maintaining, repairing, and strengthening the nation’s road infrastructure for future generations.

Our experience, collaborative ethos, and investment in new materials and techniques ensure that we continue to set the standard in highway structure repair, refurbishment, and asset management.