Everyone involved in road maintenance must get together and lobby Government for greater funding according to the man seconded to the Department for Transport to champion highways efficiency.

Matthew Lugg who leads the Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme (HMEP) told delegates to a conference in April that the annual ALARM pothole report should be a call for action, otherwise the survey may be seen as just a product of vested interest.

Mr Lugg was addressing delegates to the Road Surface Treatments Association's annual conference titled 'Appreciating your biggest asset', held at the Belfry in Sutton Coldfield.

He also urged all local authorities to adopt the principles of the HMEP and asset management by sharing best practice and exchanging good ideas between client, contractor and suppliers.

Delegates also heard from business group CBI which said future infrastructure investment will be subject to the 'new normal' of private rather than public funding. But the group's head of infrastructure and environment Nicola Walker warned that if private funding is to be forthcoming then Government must be able to guarantee fiscal return, remove planning and red tape barriers and prioritise projects that will really deliver.

Hertfordshire County Council's Chris Allen-Smith used his address to conference to call for greater long term planning for highway maintenance. He said annual patch and mend policies did not represent good asset management and advocated planned maintenance programmes of at least five years.

Benefits of applying best practice and improved dialogue between client and contractor were outlined by Transport Scotland's Dougie Millar. He offered delegates an update on new surface course specification TS 2010, developed following problems with the quality and performance of stone mastic asphalt.

Where is it has been used the improved performance is significant, he said. Despite two of the worse winters on record there have been no potholes on roads with TS 2010 specified SMA, he added.

To read a longer report from the conference and for more news and information on the issues affecting road maintenance, see the new Spring 2013 issue of RSTA E-news available here

Photo: David Wright

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