The A382 link road development near Newton Abbot is an ambitious proposal to become the UK’s first ‘carbon negative’ highway – decarbonising the construction and maintenance of the road.
The scheme is upgrading the road to improve safety and tackle congestion, but it’s also one of the projects included in ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK – a three-year, UK-wide £30 million programme, funded by the Department for Transport, that aims to decarbonise the local highway network.
New and emerging carbon saving innovations, technologies, processes, materials and standards will be tested on this live construction site in order to demonstrate the carbon savings that are feasible.
A382 improvements
Work on the next phase of the A382 improvements is due to start in autumn 2025, following the confirmation of funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) in July 2025.
Upgrading and re-aligning the road between Forches Cross and Stover (Ice House Copse), and developing the Jetty Marsh Link Road to connect West Gold’s Way to the A382, will improve safety, help to ease congestion and will provide better active travel links.
Here’s a brief look at the stretch of road being upgraded by the project –
Carbon negative road
We’re aiming to reduce the estimated carbon footprint of the scheme to beyond zero without the need for offsetting.
The outcomes of this Live Labs trial will be directly applicable to the majority of highways projects in the UK, resulting in a legacy from which future schemes will benefit through carbon savings and capital cost reductions. For further information about Live Labs 2, see the ADEPT website.