Transport Asset Management
The highway authority is an organisation that handles the management of the public highway. This role can be held by many different groups.
In Hull we are responsible for managing all local roads. This is except for the A63, which is the responsibility of National Highway.
In its role as the highway authority, we maintain a large network of assets to support the public’s highway rights. These assets include -
- 730 kilometres or 454 miles of carriageway
- 1,100 kilometres or 684 miles of footways
- 284 bridges and structures
- 33,000 street lights
- 2,600 illuminated traffic signs
- 77318 gullies
The total value of our highway assets is just under £2billion.
The long term strategy for highways is set out in the Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Plan (HIAMP).
The investment in maintaining the existing road network is directed to where it makes the most significant impact. This achieves our corporate priorities and objectives.
This means ensuring that all strategic routes are maintained to a good condition. This also provides a level of funding for residential roads within local communities.
Current funding is not enough to maintain the whole network to an appropriate level. This results in some unclassified roads deteriorating to a level that is lower than the authority would have hoped, before they can be fixed.
The current road network faces constant wear and tear. This comes from increasing traffic numbers and bad weather conditions. For us to bring the existing highway network up to an ‘as new’ standard, the cost is estimated at around £60million. This is also referred to as the maintenance backlog. It is estimated that, each year, the network would need nearly £7million in maintenance in order for the backlog to remain at its current level. There is currently not enough money to fund all the maintenance schemes we would like. We have to accept there are always roads that are not in the best condition. Due to this shortfall, we have to prioritise our planned maintenance work. This is to ensure the maintenance we do offers the best value for money and the most benefit for you.
To make the most out of the existing network infrastructure, we carry out 2 different types of preventative treatments on our carriageways -
- surface dressing which is historically done on the classified road network
- micro surfacing ,which is historically done on the unclassified network. This is mainly on residential roads
These preventative treatments allow us to treat a larger area of carriageway than would otherwise be possible. Some sections of the carriageway network have deteriorated to a point where these treatments are not a suitable option. These sections of carriageway are considered for a larger and more expensive planned scheme.
Our planned major work is currently programmed over a 3 year time frame. The programme is reviewed annually. It is by using information that has been gathered for every adopted carriageway and footway throughout the city. The information is updated or altered when necessary. The information each year includes -
- condition surveys carried out by accredited external contractors
- inspection data and reports collated by our own internal inspection team
- resident and visitor enquiries that are raised through our call centre
- information received from the Area committee
Priority lists are then produced on the basis of this information. These take into account traffic counts and usage of each individual location. This is to make the best use of our available funding.
The annual capital funding allocation that we currently receive from the Department of Transport is split between the different treatments and locations. It uses an asset management based approach. Performance indicators that are annually reported are taken into account.