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Equal investment needed to keep roads on the straight and narrow
Road maintenance:
Equal investment needed to keep roads on the straight and narrow
The government has recently announced that 32 local authorities will receive investment for essential repair work on their roads. But how will the funding boost connectivity, level up infrastructure and make journeys easier?
The number of miles driven on UK roads has continued to grow exponentially. Over 327 billion miles were driven in Great Britain in 2017, about 50 billion higher than 20 years ago, and double what it was 20 years before that.
The 2019 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey reported that, for the second consecutive year, local authorities’ highway maintenance budgets have increased overall by almost 20 per cent. For councils in England and London this included a share of £420 million additional funding allocated in the November 2018 Budget. The same report also emphasised the wide disparity that exists across England, London and Wales between the haves and have nots in all areas of highway maintenance funding and the significant challenges that still remain. Some local authorities, for example, received highway maintenance pots equivalent to more than £90,000 per mile of their individual networks, while a third continue to struggle with reduced budgets, with several having less than £9,000 per mile to maintain their local roads.
Local authorities in England report that around 55 per cent of their highways maintenance budgets come from central government sources – predominantly via the Department for Transport – with the remaining 45 per cent coming from local authorities’ own sources, including council reserves and borrowing. In Wales, just over 70 per cent is allocated through the Welsh Assembly Government.
The latest ALARM survey, released towards the end of March, showed that the Chancellor’s additional £2.5 billion Budget pothole pledge would not be enough to plug the gap in local road maintenance budgets, let alone the rising backlog of repairs. In fact, the Asphalt Industry Alliance, who produce the survey, argued that the green shoots of improving conditions reported in 2019 have not been sustained, with local authorities having to cope with an average drop in overall highway maintenance budgets of 16 per cent.
With overall local authority spending down, ALARM 2020 reports that this shortfall is now an average of £4.9 million (£5.4 million in England) for local authorities across England, London and Wales, up from £3.9 million last year. The research reveals that the are 7,240 fewer miles of road reported to be in good structural condition this year, with 15 years or more of life remaining, and 1,100 more miles of roads classed as POOR, with less than five year’s life remaining.
London being prioritised
At the start of the year, the County Councils Network revealed that substantial regional disparities in local investment in England’s roads was plaguing the country, with investment in pothole filling three times higher in London compared to rural areas. Shire authorities claimed that lower funding for shire counties and regional investment being disproportionately skewed towards urban areas has consequently left motorists in their areas ‘poor relations’ to those in the major cities. The County Councils Network used their findings to call for a fair share of the government’s £2 billion pothole fund and a long-term commitment to ‘level up’ investment.
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Six weeks later, Roads Minister Baroness Vere announced that 32 local authorities will soon receive investment for essential repair work on their roads. Ensuring that communities around the country receive the boost to connectivity, which the government hopes will level up infrastructure, she said that the investment includes more than £4 million for crucial repairs to the New Elvet Bridge in Durham along with £3.7 million to help refurbish several steel bridges around Northumberland. In total, the 32 local authorities have been awarded a share of £93.4 million to repair roads and bridges.
Elsewhere, Norfolk County Council will receive more than £2.5 million to improve the highway surface on the A1122 Marham, whilst urgent work will be actioned on retaining walls on the Derwent Valley highway, on the A6, with Derbyshire County Council awarded £4.8 million. Blackpool Council will use £4.4 million of funding on the treatment of the local strategic network, a review of drainage infrastructure and the filling on of a disused subway beneath the Promenade and Tramway.
One of the projects to receive funding for tech projects will see the development of a new AI-powered app to detect potholes in real-time, using mobile phone sensors to measure when cyclists ride over or swerve to avoid them. It is hoped the app will help local authorities to quickly identify when potholes are forming and take quicker action to fill them. Baroness Vere said: “There is nothing more frustrating than a journey delayed by poor road conditions, and this multi-million pound boost will help improve connectivity across the country. This investment will not only help local areas to target current pinch points on their roads, but will also harness our world-leading research and innovation capabilities to future proof the next generation of journeys.”
Referring back to CCN analysis, last year the 36 shire counties were able to spend £20,885 per mile on road repairs, pothole filling, and constructing new junctions and networks. In comparison, the 31 councils in London are able to spend £62,350 per mile. The 36 urban metropolitan councils spent £41,929 per mile, while England’s eight ‘core cities’ are in a position to invest £57,241 per mile. Furthermore, councils in London plan to spend double the amount of almost every single region in England.
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Additionally, 11,117 miles of road network in shire counties were identified as requiring maintenance last year – this is nine per cent of the total mileage in counties and over fifteen times higher, in terms of mileage, than the figure in London. In the capital, 730 miles, or eight per cent of the total mileage, require repair at some point in the future, and in other urban authorities the figure is six per cent or 1,537 miles.
Potholes, but what about road markings?
The Road Safety Markings Association (RSMA) expressed its support for the recent Budget announcement in which Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged £2.5 billion of government money to fix potholes in England. However, the association stresses that the question of when the government intends to address the dire state of road markings across the country remains unanswered. The RSMA argues that, whether national or local, ministers must take a holistic approach to the maintenance of highway infrastructure and not focus solely on potholes.
Speaking following the 11 March Budget, Stu McInroy, RSMA chief executive, said: “We are fully supportive of all efforts that are made to make roads safer for users, however it appears that road markings, once again, are not considered when funding decisions are made. We have stated time and again that well maintained road markings are a key component in delivering safer roads for all users. Road markings are widely overlooked in terms of road safety however, improved or redesigned road markings can achieve an improvement in road safety comparable to expensive engineering and highway restructuring solutions at significantly less cost.
“With targets for autonomous vehicles still being pushed, careful consideration should be given sooner rather than later to address the need for bringing road markings up to the standard required. The alternative will be a retrospective panic when highly capable vehicles that are unsupported by appropriate infrastructure attempt to use our road network.”
FURTHER INFORMATION:
www.asphaltuk.org
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