A major boost to the safety of engineers carrying out essential maintenance for the nation's transport network has been hailed as a "game-changer" by Highways England.

On-road testing of a new system of signage to accompany roadwork projects across the UK has meant that staff no longer need to erect message boards along the central reservation of dual, three and four-lane carriageways.

Making this simple change has helped to reduce the number of instances where individuals are required to cross active lanes of traffic, with official estimates that a nationwide shift to this process could help to eliminate as many as 3.9 million road crossings per year.

Created through the partnership of Highways England, the Transport Research Laboratory and the Road Worker Safety Forum, the scheme has now been bestowed a special title at this year's Highways Magazine Excellence Awards.

The initiative was recognised with the prestigious Special Merit Award by judges at a gala ceremony this week.

Responding to the accolade, team leader for the Highways England health and safety division based in Bedford Ian Smith said: "This is a great achievement but we will not stop here.

"We are already working on innovative techniques which will further improve road worker safety while working on live lanes and near to traffic management vehicles. We are aiming to massively reduce these remaining levels of risk by the end of 2016."

Helping to deliver enhanced safety for all road users and for those that work on the nation's roads is an important part of the remit of Highways England and this latest award is proof that positive steps are now being taken to fulfil this goal.