The Scottish Trunk Road Adaptation Plan

The Strategic Outcome for Roads from Transport Scotland’s Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (ACCAR) promotes Trunk Roads which are well adapted and resilient to the current, projected and unexpected impacts of climate change. The Transport Scotland Trunk Road Adaptation Plan (TRAP) provides an action focussed approach to achieving this outcome. Thematic areas for the plan have been derived from the ACCAR Vision:

“A transport system which is well adapted and prepared for current and future impacts of climate change, safe for all users, reliable for everyday journeys, and resilient to weather related disruption.”

  • Addressing road safety challenges, exacerbated by climate change, includes integrating weather forecasting systems, robust communication with stakeholders and road users, and ensuring design standards are fit for purpose with respect to more extreme climate events.
  • Maintaining a reliable Trunk Road Network (TRN) is essential for maintaining efficient road networks; this involves proactive maintenance, real-time monitoring, and coordinated responses to disruptions. Prioritizing reliability across the network enables transportation systems to effectively withstand climate challenges and ensure uninterrupted mobility for people and goods.
  • A focus on resilient infrastructure safeguards transportation assets and ensures the functionality of essential routes, achieved through measures like upgrading drainage systems and reinforcing road surfaces to withstand climate-related challenges. Through targeted resilience actions, Transport Scotland can reduce the disruptive impacts of climate change and maintain the continued functionality of transportation systems.

As the national transport agency, Transport Scotland is responsible for delivering the Scottish Government’s vision for transport and is a major contributor to climate adaptation programmes in Scotland. It has a series of adaptation commitments, laid out across the following national strategies and programmes:

Additional information on the development of the TRAP and supporting documents is described in Annex 1: Development of the Trunk Road Adaptation Plan.

This TRAP satisfies Sub-Outcome AR1.1 of Transport Scotland’s Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (ACCAR):

Sub-Outcome 1.1 - The Trunk Roads Adaptation Plan for the Trunk Roads is based on the most up to date climate change projections (UKCP18) and risk assessments, building on previous studies undertaken.

The purpose of the TRAP is to provide an action focussed framework for adapting the TRN to deliver on the Vision from Transport Scotland’s ACCAR. The TRAP framework is presented below. Recommendations are grouped under three action themes. Additional enabling actions are also grouped into three themes. Co-benefits considered opportunities for reducing emissions, enhancing the environment, and no-regret (‘low-hanging fruit’) recommendations.

Figure 1 - Trunk Road Adaptation Plan Framework:

ACCAR Vision

“A transport system which is well adapted and prepared for current and future impacts of climate change, safe for all users, reliable for everyday journeys, and resilient to weather related disruption”

Action Themes

Safety Enhancement

  • Enhancing safety measures in response to changing climate conditions.
  • 8 Recommendations.

Reliability Improvement

  • Ensuring reliability for uninterrupted transportation, or reduced impacts of delay when they occur.
  • 5 Recommendations.

Resilience Building

  • Improving resilience against extreme weather events such as floods, storms, and heatwaves.
  • 11 Recommendations.

Enabler Themes

Engagement and Partnership

  • Collaboration within Transport Scotland and its stakeholders to effectively tackle the challenges of climate change and identify opportunities to share resources.       
  • 10 Recommendations.

Research and Understanding

  • Fill identified knowledge gaps in understanding the impacts of climate risk and foster innovation for the development of technologies and materials that future-proof road infrastructure.
  • 7 Recommendations.

Monitoring and Evaluation

  • Establishing a comprehensive monitoring framework, to demonstrate progress toward a well-adapted trunk road system.
  • 4 Recommendations

Prioritised Co-benefits

  • Net-Zero Target
  • Environmental Benefit
  • Easy Win