Traffic Management Plan (TMP)

Traffic Management Plans

Every single day, utilities maintenance, infrastructure upgrades and street works introduce temporary disruptions to the public highway.

Whenever a developer or planner starts an excavation or establishes a temporary physical presence on live roads, they inevitably interfere with pre-existing traffic patterns.

If you fail to coordinate the complex street works correctly, it can lead to immediate gridlock, severe health and safety risks, and substantial fixed penalty notices (FPNs) or statutory overstay charges from the local highways authorities.

To overcome such challenges and maintain a smooth traffic flow, project teams need to deploy an engineered approach to public protection using a traffic management plan (TMP).

With the help of comprehensive traffic management plans, you can isolate hazard areas while keeping your temporary traffic setup fully compliant with national safety standards.

What is a Traffic Management Plan?

A traffic management plan (TMP) is a highly detailed operational blueprint that maps out how a project, exercise or action will temporarily alter the public highway to maintain optimal safety and efficiency.

Instead of being a vague set of guidelines, the plan itself offers a legally binding and technical set of traffic controls.

A thorough plan dictates how cyclists, pedestrians, vehicles and active public services will navigate around a temporary closure, utility dig or public event footprint.

Rather than letting on-site teams guess how to handle incoming traffic, an effective traffic management plan provides instructions, specifying the precise configuration of traffic control measures to separate the public from an active work area.

When Do You Need a Traffic Management Plan?

A plan will be needed before you start any physical activity that alters the normal capacity, speed limits or routing of a public road, cycleway or footway.

It is something that will be demanded by local highway authorities and emergency services to make sure that public safety has been prioritised before granting the necessary street works permits, road closures or licences.

Common Scenarios Calling for Temporary Traffic Planning

Examples of circumstances where a TMP would be needed include:

• Altering a pedestrian walkway or cycle track, demanding alternative safe walkways or temporary pedestrian crossings
• Installing portable two-way signals or a manual shuttle service to handle traffic on particularly busy construction sites
• Managing crowded settings and unique vehicle movements during large-scale outdoor events, festivals or a complex construction project
• Setting up full highway diversions for utility connections or maintenance, leading to drivers following dedicated traffic routes

Components of a Traffic Management Plan

In any traffic management plan, the contents need to be robust enough to satisfy both the strict council engineers and the project managers overseeing the scheme.

A TMP must address the precise site conditions for the specific project duration and cannot fall back on generic descriptions.

Below, we’ve mapped out more of an idea of what goes into a plan:

Traffic Management Plan Checklist

At the point of creating the plan itself, several key elements are needed to cater to all considerations and guarantee regulatory compliance. The primary factors in a TMP are:

• Access Points: Defined entry and exit points for authorised vehicles to confirm that they can join the work pocket without causing sudden disruptions to the flow of traffic
• Crossing Points: Appropriately positioned crossings that are equipped with non-slip surfaces, high-visibility coverage and clear sightlines for approaching motorists
• Cycle Routes: Maintained or safely diverted paths for cyclists to ensure that they aren’t forced into dangerous positions alongside heavy construction vehicles
• Pedestrian Routes: Safe and completely barriered paths that keep vulnerable members of the public entirely separated from passing vehicles
• Traffic Routes: Established vehicle routine maps that ensure diverted traffic bypasses the active work zone via suitable vehicle routes and high-capacity roads

Relevant Traffic Management Plan Software

As with many plans that require various types of data and pinpoint accuracy, traffic management plans involve the use of specialist software.

Professional transport engineers design the temporary schemes using industry-recognised programmes, such as CONE or advanced AutoCAD suites.

Using the software, designers can integrate precise scale maps of nearby intersections, adding temporary signs and signal placements in a way that matches real-world street geometry.

The digital platforms cross-reference design layouts with standard national guidelines, helping to space out warning indicators flawlessly before the point of submission.

Accurate Traffic Management Plan Drawings

With the help of advanced software, consultants can create a traffic management plan drawing based on the exact dimensions and circumstances of the site.

All CAD documents detail the physical implementation of every single safety item to support worker protection and the general health and safety of all road users.

More specifically, TMP drawings must show the location of:

• Safety Cones and Tapers – the length of lead-in tapers, calculating the correct spacing of cones based on the permanent speed limits of the highway
• Safety Signage – high-visibility worker safety arrays, emergency vehicle access markers, explicit information boards and anything else that protects workers
• Temporary Traffic Controls – the positioning of portable signal heads, detector loops and ‘Wait Here When Red Light Shows’ boundaries
• Traffic Signs – every statutory warning sign, directional arrow and diversion indicator matching the exact sizing rules of the traffic signs manual

Having a technically precise CAD drawing is vital to ensure safety across active traffic areas where machinery and pedestrians mix.

By mapping out exactly where banksmen will stand to guide vehicles, the layout keeps ground workers safe from potential hazards.

Drawings also specify the mandatory deployment of on-site warning infrastructure, ensuring crews are equipped with high visibility clothing, that plant vehicles utilise audible reversing alarms, and that all temporary utility pockets are flanked by electronic warning devices.

Support from a Traffic Management Plan Company

Specialist traffic engineering companies offer an end-to-end service designed to take the operational pressure off developers, contractors and event organisers.

High-level highway engineering is outside of our internal remit, so Arbtech outsources traffic and transport services straight to a trusted partner company.

The dedicated specialist we refer to handles the entire administrative and technical workload, delivering comprehensive technical design, local authority liaison and formal application management to secure your required street works permit to the same level as we would.

By connecting clients to a trusted and reliable team we recommend, we can ensure that you receive expert site surveys, hazard identification and local council-approved road layouts that allow your construction work or public event to proceed legally.

Traffic Management Plan Consultants

Under the supervision of a traffic management plan consultant, you will gain immediate access to specialists who understand how to handle high-level approvals from potentially strict local authorities.

Traffic management consultants evaluate your specific conditions, review potential risks to road users and balance safety with your operational targets to reduce risks.

All of the pressure of site management is placed on the shoulders of a consultant, with them handling all of the technical coordination, negotiating directly with highway officers, and identifying how to secure approvals through careful planning before any equipment touches the tarmac.

Based on their direction, a basic traffic management plan can be transformed into a highly defensible, expert document that speeds up your permit approvals across all construction zones.

Traffic Management Plan Cost

With the cost for any traffic management plan, the total price depends entirely on the complexity of the highway setup.

As with most services to support planning, the price of general traffic management plans can vary significantly from case to case.

The intricacy of the project affects the number of components included in the process and the likely timeline for obtaining approval, as outlined below:

If you need high-quality drawings and a comprehensive plan, investing in a TMP is unavoidable. At the same time, however, it’s an investment that will avoid issues, delays and additional costs later in the process.

It is only possible to get an accurate cost for a traffic management plan on your site and based on your objectives by getting in touch with our team and giving us as much detail as possible.

Seek a Referral from Arbtech

While our internal teams focus strictly on the ecological, arboricultural, and environmental aspects of your development, high-level temporary traffic management is one part of the process that demands standalone specialists.

Our trusted partner company focuses entirely on delivering council-approved schemes that protect your workforce while ensuring that your overarching timeline is fully respected.

As well as traffic management plans (TMPs), the company can also conduct other types of traffic and transport services, such as transportation management plans (TMPs) and construction traffic management plans (CTMPs).

If you need a professional highway scheme designed to clear your upcoming street works permits, reach out to us today, and we will pass your details directly to our partners to get your road approvals sorted without any avoidable delays.