AtkinsRéalis has written a short paper on the outcome of its consultation on updates to Well-managed Highway Infrastructure (WMHI) Code of Practice update
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AtkinsRéalis has written a short paper on the outcome of its consultation on updates to Well-managed Highway Infrastructure (WMHI) Code of Practice update, held between 14 May to 7 June 2026. The consultation invited stakeholders from across the highways sector to review the draft document and provide feedback on its overall direction, structure and detailed content.
In its response to the consultation, CIHT suggested that guidance should evolve beyond traditional, asset-focused management to encompass whole highway service performance, measuring success through public experience, journey reliability, responsiveness, and customer insight and called for climate resilience, carbon reduction, and net-zero strategies to be embedded across all strategic and legal frameworks rather than treated as a minor, isolated topic.
Read CIHT’s full response here
AtkinsRéalis was appointed by the Department for Transport (DfT) to lead the latest review of Well-managed Highway Infrastructure (WMHI): A Code of Practice. The Code of Practice guides highway authorities across the UK in the effective, risk-based management of their networks. The Code of Practice was published in 2016, with the emergence of new technologies, evolving policy landscapes and shifts in stakeholder needs prompting a review and update of the original guidance.
As part of the update process, the draft updated version of Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice was made available for public consultation between 14 May and 7 June 2026. AtkinsRéalis has confirmed that all feedback received has been reviewed and considered in the development of the final Code.
AtkinsRéalis has summarised the recurring themes highlighted in feedback, including
clarity around the risk-based approach and its implementation;
consistency, quality and availability of condition data and survey methodologies;
highway network performance, inspection regimes and maintenance practices;
funding levels, resource constraints and proportionality in the application of the Code;
service delivery and outcome-based approaches;
resilience, adaptation and long-term asset management planning; and
the role of emerging technologies, including image-based surveys and digital evidence collection.
Read the full consultation outcome paper here
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