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The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom. The agency has responsibility for maintaining and improving the 7754 km (4818 miles) of motorways and trunk roads (main long-distance roads) in England. The agency was created by John Major's government in 1994. The current Chief Executive is Archie Robertson, formerly Chief Executive of the Environment Agency.

Non-trunk 'A' roads, 'B' roads and minor roads are maintained by local authorities and not the Highways Agency. Trunk roads in Scotland and Wales are the responsibility of the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly respectively. Northern Ireland's roads are the responsibility of an executive agency within the Department for Regional Development called the Roads Service.

The Highways Agency network is split into 14 operational areas [1], which are managed and maintained by agents, often a joint venture between a civil engineering consultancy and contractor. In addition, there are some sections of road that are managed by DBFO contracts separate from the area teams, such as the A30 east of Exeter and the M40. This gives a total of 34 operational areas.

In Spring 2004, Highways Agency Traffic Officers (otherwise known as HATO's) began working alongside police on motorways in the West Midlands. Traffic Officers now patrol all motorways and some A roads within England, with high visibility patrols. They are supported by Incident Support Units.

A typical Highways Agency Traffic Officer vehicle

Traffic Officers' duties include the following:

• attending motor vehicle accidents
• removing damaged and abandoned vehicles
• clearing debris on carriageways
• undertaking high visibility patrols
• providing mobile/temporary road closures
• supporting police in their duties
• supporting ISU units in incidents on the network

Traffic Officers are supported by seven Regional Control Centres across England, and will be jointly staffed by the police and the Highways Agency. The control centres will allocate Traffic Officers and other emergency services to incidents, manage and monitor traffic and control electronic signs on the roads.

• http://www.highways.gov.uk/

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