Utility companies could be better held to account for poor road
repairs that cause potholes or dangerous road surfaces.
Transport Secretary has today launched a
consultation on increasing the guarantee on utility firms’
roadworks, so that if a pothole forms as a result within five
years, the company must return to bring the road surface back to
normal.
The Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways
consultation will propose increasing the minimum guarantee from
the current two years to up to five years, and will also
introduce new asphalt standards, to keep roads pothole-free for
longer.
Transport Secretary said:
“Potholes are the biggest enemy for road users and this
government is looking at all options to keep our roads in the
best condition.
“Road surfaces can be made worse by utility companies, so
imposing higher standards on repairs will help keep roads
pothole-free for longer.”
The proposals also allow for new innovative surfacing to be used,
such as asphalt with a high bitumen content that is easier to
compact to the required density. This makes it less prone to
potholing.
This consultation, which will last eight weeks, follows a number
of other interventions by the Government to help improve road
surfaces.
Last month, the Department for Transport announced real-world
tests of new road surfaces and technologies in eight areas to see
which emerging innovations provide long-term solutions to improve
journeys.
The £22.9 million Live Labs projects will be delivered by
councils - including Kent, Staffordshire, Reading, Suffolk and
Solihull and Birmingham – and if successful, could be adopted by
other authorities.
These schemes include expanding the test in Cumbria of plastic
roads, using kinetic energy off Buckinghamshire roads to power
lighting and using geothermal energy to keep car parks and in
Central Bedfordshire bus stations from freezing over.
In the Budget in November, the Chancellor announced an additional
£420 million for road maintenance for 2018/19 financial year.
This brings the total funding for pothole repair and roads
maintenance up to £6.6 billion from 2015 to 2020.
Last year, the Department for Transport announced councils across
England could introduce Lane Rental schemes – where utility
companies are charged up to £2,500 a day to dig up busy roads –
to reduce the duration of roadworks and speed up traffic.
The government is also investing up to £10m in Street
Manager. The data opened up by this new digital service should
enable motorists to plan their journeys better, so they can avoid
works and get to their destinations more easily.
