Decarbonising Liverpool's roads

A project funded by the Department for Transport aims to reduce the environmental impact of Liverpool's roads and help the city achieve its net-zero goal by 2030.

ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK is a three-year, UK-wide £30 million programme funded by the Department for Transport that aims to decarbonise the local highway network.

The Liverpool Live Lab project, launched in 2023, will run for three years and has huge potential to contribute to sustainable urban development and inspire other cities on their path to net-zero.

What are the benefits of the project?

By taking part, Liverpool will benefit from:

• a review of the city's road design, construction and maintenance with a focus on minimising carbon footprint
• three smaller projects in different parts of the city that will test new materials and processes
• recycling of highways materials to reduce their environmental impact
• streamlined legal, contractual and procurement processes that speed up the adoption of sustainable solutions
• research and information on sustainable road management

Live Labs 2

The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) represents local authority county, unitary and metropolitan directors across England. Live Labs 2 includes seven projects, grouped by four interconnected themes, led by local authorities working alongside commercial and academic partners.

Each project is testing new solutions to decarbonise construction and maintenance across the whole life cycle of the local highway network. The programme is overseen by an independent Commissioning Board, which includes the Department for Transport and other experts from across the public and private sectors.

For more information, visit adeptnet.org.uk/livelabs2 or contact us at LiveLabs@Liverpool.gov.uk

Our project partners

The main project partners are:

• Liverpool City Council — project leaders with a focus on achieving Carbon Net Zero by 2030
• Colas Ltd — a major civil engineering company specialising in road construction and innovative solutions
• Pell Frischmann — an engineering consultancy providing technical expertise
• Liverpool John Moores University — contributing academic expertise and research capabilities
• Future Highways Research Group — bringing research and innovation in our carbon approach
• Bird & Bird — offering legal advice specialising in environmental and infrastructure projects
• Aberdeen City Council — sharing experiences and collaborating on relevant aspects of the project