2025 was a wonderful year at Hi Way Services, where we took part in several amazing volunteer days (including The Felix Project, where fresh produce is picked and distributed amongst the community) and embarked on many notable and satisfying projects. Before 2026 gets into full swing, we thought we’d take a look back on some highlights and celebrate the expert work of our dedicated team.
Improving Cycling Infrastructure in Tunbridge Wells
Many local authorities in the UK have looked at the success of cities in Europe in making roads more welcoming to cyclists and have set out on programmes of work to emulate their tactics. With 60% of individuals citing perceived danger as the main deterrent to using their pushbikes, cycle paths facilitate safer journeys and make people more confident. In the autumn, our team showed off their excellent pram work on a cycle path in Tunbridge Wells, which we hope has benefited the community.
Fixing Ghost Markings
Faded road markings are a common problem which can quickly turn into a safety issue if not properly addressed. Known as “ghost markings”, removal or touch-ups (depending on what’s most appropriate given the circumstances) are essential to ensure that roads are easily navigable. Below, you can see an example of a before-and-after marking installation where high-quality materials and careful application greatly improved visibility for road users.
Something a Little Different: Rib Line Markings
Road markings aren’t only effective in what drivers can see – they can also provide a warning should they drift too close to the edge of a lane. One simple innovation is rib line margins, a specialist thermoplastic road marking material which includes raised ridges. These create an audio and sensory effect when driven over, prompting road users to correct their steering.
High-Friction Road Surfacing on the Woodhead Pass
Now this was something special! In this project, 14’000m2 of Grey MMA HFS was installed on the A628 Woodhead Pass, completed across twenty-five shifts. We saw all four seasons thrown at us during the course of the project, but the site teams did a fantastic job of keeping on programme -when the weather allowed for it- installing up to 800m2 per shift on some of the dry nights.
High-friction road surfacing is one of the best tools we have to bring down the number of injuries and fatalities that sadly occur on our roads. By increasing grip and lowering the chance of skidding, high-friction road surfacing has reduced the rate of accidents by 57% since its first use in the 1950s.
High-friction road surfacing serves as more than just a practical solution, however. As can be seen below, the textured finish also makes the material a popular choice for paths, parks and heritage sites – where people can choose from a range of coloured aggregates and tailor the final look to the surrounding environment.
Delivering Complex Designs
There is always a lot to think about when it comes to delivering road surfacing and marking projects, but some projects are more complex than others. Here is a drone shot of the great work delivered by team members Leo and Matt, using Red MMA Pumatrack & MMA lining to create the markings for this Turbo Roundabout.
Creating Safer Environments
It’s essential to ensure work sites are as safe as possible, especially where heavy machinery and large vehicles meet busy foot traffic. Clean and clear yard markings – such as zebra crossings, hatching, gate openings, and directional arrows – like those installed in the project pictured below, make a huge difference and help to protect everyone on site.
If you have a work area or warehouse that you feel could be improved, contact us for a free site survey, and we’ll let you know what the best solutions are for your environment.
Bus Stop Improvement Project
We worked with Balfour Beatty to deliver bus stop improvements in Portsmouth, where 680 m² of MMA high-friction road surfacing and road markings were efficiently installed by our site team, all over the course of one shift. This was a great project where we received some generous feedback from the client, who reported:
“Great work from your lads last night! Everyone was on time for the briefing, and we were able to walk through the job and get a plan in place promptly. They cracked on with the work, and despite the amount of work to get through, everything was achieved to a high standard. The work was nice, neat, and thorough.”
Upgrading Hospital Roads in Thanet
The QEQM Hospital Junction scheme – part of the wider Thanet Loop Improvement Project, delivered by Kent County Council – was a large and interesting undertaking for the Hi-Way services team, which included a variety of different updates. Designed to improve the efficiency of the Stagecoach Thanet Loop bus service and result in quicker journey times for bus users, we helped to bring about:
- Full traffic signal upgrades at the QEQM junction
- A dedicated pedestrian footpath linking Ramsgate Road to the service road
- New pedestrian crossing facilities
- A dedicated bus lane between Lesters Pub and the QEQM
- 3,325m² of carriageway resurfacing along Ramsgate Road
- Hydroblasting of existing conflicting road markings
- A full refresh and install of the new road marking layout
- 600m2 + MMA HFS
- Relocation of existing bus stops further north
We want to extend a huge thank you to our partners, including Balfour Beatty and Kent County Council, for trusting us with these vital infrastructure improvements over the last year. We feel privileged to be able to deliver such a wide variety of projects across vastly different environments and contribute to the safety and wellbeing of our communities.
We are also extremely proud of our skilled and dedicated team, who not only achieve great results no matter how complex the project, but also go above and beyond in contributing to charitable endeavours.
Contact our expert team today for a consultation or to book a free site survey.
Here’s to making 2026 an even safer year!
