The MCHW is used on highway projects across the UK. It comprises core requirements applicable to all Overseeing Organisations (OOs) and national determined requirements which reflect the needs of the different OOs. Within the UK, there are four Overseeing Organisations responsible for the motorway and all-purpose trunk roads: National Highways, Transport Scotland, Welsh Government and the Department for Infrastructure Northern Ireland.

In the old MCHW, national variations were typically presented within sections at the end of each series; in some cases, also within the main text.

In the updated MCHW, users will now be prompted to download a “country-specific” version of a document from the Standards for Highways website, see Figure 1. Remember to select a pertinent date, typically the one relevant to the contract under consideration (see “Choose a date” on Figure 1).

Country-specific versions now contain nationally determined requirements in the main body of the text, either as individual requirements when there is small variation, or as separate sections when there is significant variation. They are flagged by using a relevant letter, see Figure 2: “E” for National Highways, “NI” for Department of Infrastructure Northern Ireland, “S” for Transport Scotland, “W” for Welsh Government.

Figure 1 – Selection of a country-specific version from the Standards for Highways website

Figure 2 – Example of country-specific requirement

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