This was among the key recommendations of a new report from the House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee titled ‘Heatwaves: adapting to climate change’. The report concludes that heatwaves have negative effects on critical national infrastructure including transport. In particular road surfaces can soften, rut and melt under high temperatures and railway tracks are vulnerable to buckling.
During the recent hot weather some roads in Cumbria and Lancashire began to melt leading the local councils to grit surfaces. A section of the A543 in Conwy county, Wales, was closed because of a melting road surface.
During the 2006 heatwave there was damage to roads across the country from Cornwall to Cumbria. A study of the 2003 heatwave found that the resulting road maintenance cost over £40M.
“Previous UK heatwaves led to very costly road repairs, the costs of which will fall on local authorities,” the report highlights. It warns the heat resilience of local roads is unclear. “The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs should review the capacity of local authorities to undertake adaptation focused maintenance of local roads,” it recommends.
Howard Robinson, Chief Executive, Road Surface Treatments Association warns: “Local highway resources do not have the funding to address the problems of freezing in winter and the resultant potholes, let alone the repair of roads melting during the summer.”
The report points to certain types of road surface being vulnerable to rutting and melting. Around 50% of Highways England’s network features thin surfacing course systems, which contain polymer modified binders to prevent softening under extreme hot weather. However, such modified asphalts tend to be more expensive and the percentage of local roads treated with these is estimated at 5%.
The report indicates that high temperatures double the likelihood of service failure on railways. During heatwaves, trains are often run at a restricted speed to lower forces on the rails and reduce the risk of buckling.
Photo: Lancashire County Council
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