Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees lead roads revolution with UK’s lowest carbon highways
Three local roads in the north east are at the centre of a roads revolution, aiming to be the lowest carbon highways ever to be resurfaced in the UK, thanks to a project that is setting a new benchmark for the way our roads are built.
Working in partnership with Hartlepool Borough Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and a number of international organisations, Tarmac – the construction materials company most famous for inventing the modern road surface in 1903 – is using cutting-edge technology to reduce the carbon emissions on the project by up to 80 per cent compared to traditional methods.
Using its 120 years of experience of road building, Tarmac’s team is combining some of the very latest low-carbon materials, techniques and equipment for the very first time to resurface a section of the A689 in Wynyard, near Hartlepool, and two residential roads in Stockton-on-Tees. The project team involved looked at every source of carbon emissions involved in a road project and how they could be reduced.
The asphalt used for the new road surfaces has been mixed at lower temperatures to save more carbon and includes significant quantities of recycled materials from old roads. It also includes a special bitumen – the ‘glue’ that sticks the asphalt together – developed by Shell using natural oils that lock in carbon and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere.
The manufacturing plant used to make the asphalt has been powered by an alternative to traditional fossil fuels.
A number of electric vehicles and prototypes have been helping to carry out the work which were supplied from across Europe by partners such as Wirtgen and Volvo. This includes electric and hybrid road rollers and an electric bond coat sprayer, while a number of other vehicles have been powered by a sustainable fuel made of vegetable oil as an alternative to diesel.
Brian Kent, technical director at Tarmac, said: “Against the backdrop of the climate emergency at a time when everyone is focused on how we can be cutting emissions, we are incredibly proud to have delivered a project here in the north east of England that shines a light on the extraordinary potential for low carbon road building in the UK.
“To replicate this approach on every project would require further investment and scaling up technology across the industry. However, through the commitment and collaboration of all partners, and the forward thinking of both councils, we’ve proved what can be done. This achievement is testament to the work of everyone involved in the project, who have pulled out all the stops and left no stone unturned in pursuit of the lowest carbon approach.”
Councillor Mike Young, Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: “The Tees Valley is an area renowned for innovation, and I’m delighted and proud that we are leading the way nationally – in partnership with Tarmac – with these low-carbon road resurfacing schemes.
“Schemes such as this reflect the Council’s determination to reduce its carbon footprint to help tackle the causes of climate change. We are committed to becoming a “Net Zero” emissions authority by working in partnership with a range of stakeholders. To help us achieve this, we are currently developing a strategy and action plan. This is building on work we are already delivering in a number of key areas such as home energy efficiency and renewables.”
Councillor Clare Gamble, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We’re so pleased to be the first area in the country to have the lowest carbon emission roads as schemes like this are a big part of our commitment to achieve a Net Zero future.
“The Council is always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and do all we can to help fight climate change including things like more environmentally sustainable road networks. We’ve made significant progress across several environmental measures, having reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 60 per cent over the past ten years.
“The state-of-the-art technology used by Tarmac from development to delivery of these highways has created an environmentally sustainable, durable road surface that will last for years while reducing carbon as much as possible. It will benefit people in our Borough for many generations to come.”
#carbonroad
#netzero
#roads
Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees lead roads revolution with UK’s lowest carbon highways
Three local roads in the north east are at the centre of a roads revolution, aiming to be the lowest carbon highways ever to be resurfaced in the UK, thanks to a project that is setting a new benchmark for the way our roads are built.
Working in partnership with Hartlepool Borough Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and a number of international organisations, Tarmac – the construction materials company most famous for inventing the modern road surface in 1903 – is using cutting-edge technology to reduce the carbon emissions on the project by up to 80 per cent compared to traditional methods.
Using its 120 years of experience of road building, Tarmac’s team is combining some of the very latest low-carbon materials, techniques and equipment for the very first time to resurface a section of the A689 in Wynyard, near Hartlepool, and two residential roads in Stockton-on-Tees. The project team involved looked at every source of carbon emissions involved in a road project and how they could be reduced.
The asphalt used for the new road surfaces has been mixed at lower temperatures to save more carbon and includes significant quantities of recycled materials from old roads. It also includes a special bitumen – the ‘glue’ that sticks the asphalt together – developed by Shell using natural oils that lock in carbon and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere.
The manufacturing plant used to make the asphalt has been powered by an alternative to traditional fossil fuels.
A number of electric vehicles and prototypes have been helping to carry out the work which were supplied from across Europe by partners such as Wirtgen and Volvo. This includes electric and hybrid road rollers and an electric bond coat sprayer, while a number of other vehicles have been powered by a sustainable fuel made of vegetable oil as an alternative to diesel.
Brian Kent, technical director at Tarmac, said: “Against the backdrop of the climate emergency at a time when everyone is focused on how we can be cutting emissions, we are incredibly proud to have delivered a project here in the north east of England that shines a light on the extraordinary potential for low carbon road building in the UK.
“To replicate this approach on every project would require further investment and scaling up technology across the industry. However, through the commitment and collaboration of all partners, and the forward thinking of both councils, we’ve proved what can be done. This achievement is testament to the work of everyone involved in the project, who have pulled out all the stops and left no stone unturned in pursuit of the lowest carbon approach.”
Councillor Mike Young, Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: “The Tees Valley is an area renowned for innovation, and I’m delighted and proud that we are leading the way nationally – in partnership with Tarmac – with these low-carbon road resurfacing schemes.
“Schemes such as this reflect the Council’s determination to reduce its carbon footprint to help tackle the causes of climate change. We are committed to becoming a “Net Zero” emissions authority by working in partnership with a range of stakeholders. To help us achieve this, we are currently developing a strategy and action plan. This is building on work we are already delivering in a number of key areas such as home energy efficiency and renewables.”
Councillor Clare Gamble, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We’re so pleased to be the first area in the country to have the lowest carbon emission roads as schemes like this are a big part of our commitment to achieve a Net Zero future.
“The Council is always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and do all we can to help fight climate change including things like more environmentally sustainable road networks. We’ve made significant progress across several environmental measures, having reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 60 per cent over the past ten years.
“The state-of-the-art technology used by Tarmac from development to delivery of these highways has created an environmentally sustainable, durable road surface that will last for years while reducing carbon as much as possible. It will benefit people in our Borough for many generations to come.”
#carbonroad
#netzero
#roads
