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Patch-up strategy and a lack of cash has plunged our roads into chaos
Page 19
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SYSTEMATIC UNDER-FUNDING has created significant problems with the UK road network. However, the existing, limited information resources also play a part.
Local authorities, and their contractors, still rely on reactive decision-making to address the top-priority problems.
This results in a patch-up strategy, with repeated pothole repair on small areas of the road network, rather than longer-term treatments on the entire stretch of the road that would last far longer and minimise disruption.
It is perhaps no surprise then that there is now an 11-year maintenance backlog and an estimated 1 million potholes peppering Britain's roads.
What's needed is a single source of information across the entire highway to support improved decision-making. With accurate information on the entire road network that combines assets, mapping and costs, local authorities can make the right long-term decisions rather than responding to immediate and apparent requirements.
Decisions can be based not just on urgent safety needs hut taking into account other factors such as asset condition, road usage and, more importantly, proximity to other maintenance work, and, in urban areas, the aesthetics of street furniture.
Furthermore, by publishing planned work online, local authorities could also meet TMA and eGovemment targets, while enabling citizens to keep track of road maintenance activity.
By opting for a proactive maintenance strategy with full visibility of the road network, authorities can evolve from a haphazard provision of road maintenance, reduce spiralling compensation costs and maximising value from the public purse. Ed Thorpe
Partner development director Exor Corporation