The Overall Strategy of a Maintenance Plan Is to Identify Individual Items Within the Highway

2.0MAINTENANCE FRAMEWORK

The overall strategy of a Maintenance Plan is to identify individual items within the highway network which need attention in order to restore their functionality and to address these defects in a structured, rational manner in order to optimise the expenditure of the maintenance budget.

Highway maintenance activities must also be undertaken with full cognisance of Legislation and County Council Policy and Aims & Objectives.

2.1Legislation

The main pieces of legislation which place mandatory maintenance requirements upon the Highway Authority are:

Highways Act 1980

The Highways Act 1980 places a duty upon Highway Authorities to maintain highways at public expense, and spells out the powers available to an Authority regarding the ability to act against individuals who affect the highway.

New Roads and Street Works Act 1991

The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 places a duty upon Highway Authorities and Statutory Undertakers to work towards co-ordinating all works in the highway for the purposes of ensuring safety, minimising inconvenience to highway users and protecting the highway and apparatus within it.

The Environmental Protection Act 1990

The Statutory Instruments relating to this Act introduced the Landfill Tax and reinforced the need to consider methods of recycling construction materials so as to conserve the Environment

The Local Government Act 1999

The legislation covering Best Value in England and the Wales Programme for Improvement

2.2Documentation

Guidance on the management and implementation of highway maintenance works is provided by :

The Design Manual for Roads & Bridges (Volume 7)

Department for Transport Specification for Highways Works

Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual

Departmental Advice Notes (Welsh Assembly Government)

British Standards

The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002

2.3Local Authority Association Code of Practice

In 1989 the Local Authority Association published the second edition of the Highway Maintenance Code of Good Practice (LAA Code). This code emphasises the need to establish a management system in order to deliver value for money in highway maintenance. It also produces a series of recommendations on the manner in which this can be achieved.

The Code was completely rewritten and published in 2001 as ‘Delivering Best Value in Highway Maintenance’. This Highway Maintenance Plan has sought to incorporate those principals as far as practicable.

2.4European Influence

Membership of the European Community (EC) and the advent of the ‘single market’ has had an impact on highway maintenance. Invitations for a contractor to tender for works or the supply of services (above a prescribed value) have to be placed in The European Journal. In addition, specifications for contracts must quote Eurocodes as well as British Standard numbers for the supply of materials and equipment.

Perhaps, the greatest impact of European standards came into effect on 1 January 1999 when 41 tonne vehicles, with axle loadings of up to 11.5 tonnes, were permitted on British roads. The previous limits were 38 tonnes for vehicles and 10 tonnes for axles. This additional load is extremely damaging to the carriageways, but a more immediate effect will be upon the bridge stock. In February 2001, the maximum vehicle weight was increased to 44 tonnes.

In England, funds for assessing structures to the new weight limit requirement and any necessary strengthening works have been “ring-fenced” by the Highways Agency, however no separate provision has been made in Wales by the Welsh Assembly Government. County Councils are expected to find the funds to assess their structures from their Revenue budgets. In addition bridge weight limits cannot be installed to control heavy vehicles until a formal assessment has been undertaken.

2.5Changes in Traffic Patterns

Traffic data for the former Gwent area shows an increase of 28.9% over the period 1988 – 1998 compared to 25.8% (extrapolated) for Wales as a whole. All Wales figures for the period 1998 - 2010 show a potential increase in excess of 18% while the National Road Traffic Forecast shows a potential for unconstrained growth of 28.9%. In the absence of any intervention it is believed that this figure may well under estimate the problem in Monmouthshire. This has serious consequences for maintenance as the deterioration of carriageways is directly related to the volume of heavy goods vehicles.

2.6Highway Network

Monmouthshire has approximately 1600 km of roads and these have been classified using the traditional hierarchy as Principal (‘A’) roads, Classified (‘B’ & ‘R’) and Unclassified (‘C’), in addition there are approximately 112 km of “Green Lanes”. Green Lanes are treated differently from other unclassified rural routes in that minimal maintenance is undertaken and then only using materials that exist on site.

A summary of the highway network is provided by Table 2.6.1 below.

Class /

Table 2.6.1 Summary of Road Lengths

Due to the distinct difference between the character of rural and urban roads in the County, the work currently underway on a Local Street Gazetteer will ultimately involve a risk assessment on the different parts of the network to develop a network hierarchy that is consistent both with the recommendations of ‘Delivering Best Value in Highway Maintenance’ and Section 58 of the Highways Act. The latter states that standards of maintenance should be “appropriate for a highway of that character and used by such traffic”.

2.7Safety Inspections

The Council has a duty under the Highways Act 1980, to repair defects which are hazardous to safety with due regard to the nature and location of the road. To ensure that the occurrence of safety hazards is minimised, formal safety inspections are undertaken by the team’s four Highway Inspectors.

2.7.1Inspection Frequency

The highway network is currently in the process of being redefined in accordance with the requirements of the National Street Gazetteer and a risk assessment will be undertaken when this process has been completed.

The risk assessment should take the following factors into account :

Volume of traffic - vehicular and / or pedestrian

Character of traffic – vulnerable users such as children.

Designated route – bus route, safe route to school, other routes promoted by the Authority for tourism etc.

Special facilities – schools, nursing homes, shopping area

Incident history – accidents, claims, public enquiries

In the interim, safety inspections are carried out at frequencies that are dictated by the national road classification and described in the following Table:-

Classification / Frequency*
Principal (‘A’ roads)
Classified Numbered (‘B’ roads)
Classified Unnumbered (‘R’ roads)
Unclassified Roads (incl. ‘C’ roads) / 1 Month
1 Month
3 Months
1 Year

*Inspections are conducted more frequently if conditions indicate that they are needed.

Safety Inspection Frequencies

2.7.2Defects

The following defects / situations have been identified as amongst those having the potential to present a hazard to road users. The location, extent and nature of defects (and the possible outcome of legal proceedings) will determine whether the circumstances should be regarded as an emergency i.e. likely to present an immediate hazard to road users. The target response for emergency situations is that they should be made safe within 24 hours.

Carriageway

Potholes > 40mm extending >300mm in any direction
Deterioration of the edge of the carriageway to a depth below the wearing course or deformation > 100 mm confined to the carriageway edge.
Debris - partial / total obstruction of traffic lane
Spillage e.g. Oil / fuel following road traffic accident

Footway

Potholes > 20mm
Rocking flags >20mm
Cracks or gaps between flags > 20mm
Abrupt difference in profile > 25mm extending >600mm in any direction
Missing blocks / flags leaving a difference in level > 20mm

Kerbs & Channel blocks

Displacement or disintegration leading to an abrupt difference in level > 20mm

Drainage Systems

Accumulation of water on carriageways, footways & cycle-tracks
Abrupt difference in level between components
Missing or broken ironwork

Embankments & Cuttings

Risk of loose material
Risk of landslip and rock-falls

Landscaped Areas & Trees

Obstruction to user visibility and legibility of traffic signs
Falling Branches from trees
Leaf fall causing slippery surface
Root growth affecting surface regularity

Fences & Barriers

Integrity & location of safety fences for vehicles and pedestrians

Traffic Signs & Bollards

Matters involving the legality of important regulatory and warning signs
Damage, deterioration or vandalism to components

Road Markings & Studs

Sites of high safety risk – identified by double white lines

> 30% of road markings worn away

> 75% of road studs to be reflective prior to winter period

Displaced studs to be removed as soon as practicable
Loose studs to be removed as soon as practicable

2.8Technical Surveys

The main types of technical survey undertaken on the road network are :

Deflectograph – on the principal and main classified roads to assess structural condition, predict ‘residual life’ & produce the National Performance Indicator NAWPI 6.3a. There is a requirement to survey 25% of the network annually.

SCRIM – on the principal roads - to assess skidding resistance

Coarse Visual Inspection (CVI) on the non-principal classified roads – to evaluate condition and produce the National Performance Indicator NAWPI 6.3b. There is a requirement to survey 100% of the network annually.

All are procured through an arrangement with Capita Symonds and undertaken by a specialist contractor.

Footway condition is determined by visual inspection methods. The County Council will continue its commitment to improving and maintaining footways to a satisfactory standard.

Survey / Technical Survey Programme
Lane km / (% of Network)

Class

A / B / R / C

Deflectograph

/ 30.0 (25%) / None / None / None
SCRIM / 115.2 / None / 45.1 / None
CVI / None / 39.9 (100%) / 415.1 (100%) / None

Table 2.8 Technical Survey Programme 2003 / 2004

The programme of the various surveys that are undertaken are provided in Table 2.8 above. The surveys and inspections are targeted at the ‘main’ roads (A, B and the busier ‘R’ class roads) because the benefits of collecting accurate & objective road condition data has to be balanced against the benefit of spending the money on maintenance work. At the moment, unclassified roads are subject to a less formal inspection by the authority’s Highway Inspectors.

2.9Public Expectation

As the length of the highway network, and the volume of traffic using it, has increased, so has public expectation of the level of service to be delivered. The Wales Programme for Improvement has formalised this expectation by requiring Highway Authorities to publish target standards of service and the performance achieved. This has served to heighten public expectation and increase awareness of the responsibilities of Highway Authorities.

Monmouthshire has introduced several initiatives which seek to improve the response to public concern, particularly in sensitive areas of operations, and to provide information on the response. These include:

One-Stop-Shops - based in Abergavenny, Chepstow, Caldicot and Monmouth with a sub-office in Usk.

Highway Enquiry Line - based at County Hall

Two Man Gangs – for reactive maintenance in each Highway Inspector’s area

Development of web site

2.10Conservation Areas & Local Agenda 21

Monmouthshire has an important historic and natural environment which includes the BreconBeaconsNational Park. The WyeValley has been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Gwent Levels is a Registered Historic Landscape. In addition to over 2000 listed buildings, over 160 Scheduled Ancient Monuments, 42 Registered Gardens and 31 Conservation Areas, Monmouthshire contains part of the Blaenavon World Heritage Site and provides protection to the character of a wide range of towns and villages.

In undertaking maintenance activities, the Highway Management Team are required to consult with local communities and the Council’s Conservation Officer. Examples of such works include the use of blocked paviours along a shared pedestrian/traffic street within the town of Usk and the use of quieter surfacing materials through the WyeValley from Chepstow to Monmouth. Where traffic calming schemes are being considered in Conservation Areas extra attention is paid to the choice of materials in order to avoid having a detrimental impact.

The design of the new MonnowBridge at Monmouth and the resurfacing of the neighbouring historic bridge provides further examples of the kind of works that can help to achieve the Council’s statutory requirement to preserve and enhance the special character of Conservation Areas.

In addition, the highways team are currently working with the Local Agenda 21 Officer in order to implement a recycling strategy. This will be developed in line with the Council’s core value of achieving sustainable development.

2.11Asset Management

By April 2006 all Authorities in EnglandWales will be required, by legislation, to implement resource accounting and budgeting and produce asset management plans for all the infrastructure assets under their control.

A survey of the entire highway network was undertaken during the period 1988 - 1996 and information obtained on the location of all the different items which comprise the highway asset. It is proposed to check and update this data and convert it for use within the Mayrise Highway Maintenance computer system. Staff will then have convenient access to this information on any aspect of the network. This will be of use when preparing budgets or letting contracts for maintenance works. In addition, the Department’s complaints logging database, GIS Mapping System and financial management systems will be linked to a common Street Gazetteer to provide a simple, comprehensive system showing inspections, defects, complaints, maintenance works, Statutory Undertaker activities and the expenditure committed for each road.

The Overall Strategy of a Maintenance Plan Is to Identify Individual Items Within the Highway

Network Length

Table 2.6.1 Summary of Road Lengths

Landscaped Areas & Trees

Class

Deflectograph