Catalogue description Ministry of Transport and successors, Construction Units Division: Registered Files

From 1936 to 1967/8 the designation of national routes as trunk roads and the design and construction of works on them was carried out by individual local authorities, acting as agents for the Minister of Transport.

In 1966, the Minister proposed a method to deploy available highways engineering resources to the best possible advantage. As a result, the Construction Units Division was set up in 1967. Its first task was the setting up of Road Construction Units (RCUs), which took place between April 1967 and April 1968. The function of the Division was to assist the Chief Engineer, construction units, to discharge his responsibility for general oversight of the work of the RCUs and for organisational control.

The RCUs were set up after consultation with County Council authorities. The purpose of the units was to take responsibility for the design, preparation and supervision of construction of motorway and larger trunk road schemes in England, costing over one million pounds. RCUs were executive bodies and were not concerned with planning and programming in the strategic sense. That remained the responsibility of the Ministry headquarters.

Six units were set up, jointly staffed by Ministry of Transport and local authority staff on loan. In each area the headquarters unit comprised of the Director, engineers and supporting staff. There were sub-units in each participating county. The units, their headquarters and the date of their establishment were:

North Western (Preston); April 1967

North Eastern (Harrogate); October 1967

Midland (Leamington Spa); October 1967

Eastern (Bedford); April 1968

South Eastern (Dorking); April 1968

South Western (Taunton); April 1968

The RCUs were disbanded between 1980 and 1981.