Contact: Richard Chinn, tel: 02380 427000

1. Summary

1.1 This report outlines the systematic approach currently in place to assess the condition of the road, cycle track and footway network and establish highway maintenance needs and assign priorities of maintenance treatments according to budgetary provisions.

1.2 It informs Members of the changes required to the condition assessment arrangements in light of the:

(i) County Council's Highway Network Management Pathfinder Review;

(ii) implementation of the National United Kingdom Pavement Management System (UKPMS); and

(iii) National Code of Practice `Delivering Best Value in Highway Maintenance'.

2. Background

General Highway Inspections and Condition Assessment

2.1 General highway inspections are undertaken routinely on set frequencies (minimum one inspection per annum) to assess the condition of roads, cycle tracks and footways, together with the need for routine maintenance works, such as emergency repairs, filling of pot-holes, surface patching and small-scale remedial treatments. The inspection process also identifies sites which may be considered for larger scale planned maintenance work, such as resurfacing, reconstruction, drainage improvements, etc.

2.2 Locations identified for larger scale planned works are then submitted for a more detailed condition assessment called `Highway Assessment of Maintenance Priorities' (HAMP). All schemes submitted for assessment are rated according to condition and assigned a priority ranking or score, based on the maintenance need. The worse the condition, the higher the rating. In this way schemes in most need of treatment can be identified and included in the planned maintenance programme.

2.3 The planned maintenance programme is then prepared, based on the HAMP assessment rating, for a range of maintenance treatments, such as surface dressing, special maintenance and resurfacing. The ideal treatment will vary according to the nature of the problem and the rating level. Desirable intervention levels have been agreed, which enable maintenance works to be carried out at the optimum treatment time.

2.4 The Local Authority Association Code of Good Practice for Highway Maintenance indicates an ideal intervention rating score from HAMP of 40 for surface dressing, 50 for special maintenance and 50 for resurfacing. For information, surface dressing is a preventative maintenance treatment which involves the application of a bitumen binder followed by stone chippings. The process extends the life of the road or footway by sealing the surface and improving skid-resistance. Special maintenance includes reconstruction, re-kerbing, footway works and drainage improvements. Resurfacing involves the laying of a new surface to the road or footway which, unlike surface dressing, adds some structural strength. A road, cycle track or footway would therefore have to be in a slightly worse condition to qualify for resurfacing compared with surface dressing.

2.5 In practice, intervention levels are set according to available funding. In Hampshire higher HAMP intervention levels have been applied to special maintenance and resurfacing. Surface dressing however, being an important preventative treatment, has been funded at the recommended HAMP level of 40. This overall approach has given a reasonable intervention strategy to help reduce the worst impact of network deterioration.

2.6 In the early 1990s maintenance funding was just about keeping pace with the rate of deterioration. Between 1992 and 1998 a combination of factors, including reduced funding from the Government and increased traffic flows and loading, has contributed to an increasing rate of deterioration (see graph in attached appendix). From 1998 onwards increased funding for highway maintenance and a strategic approach to arrest the rate of deterioration and the backlog of maintenance outlined in the Government's ten year plan have improved the situation.

2.7 At present, the total backlog of county-wide maintenance work to restore the network to the ideal condition has been assessed at £75 million, of which £20 million is related to footways. This represents the cost of improving the highway network to HAMP desirable standards.

2.8 The above estimates are based on small sample visual inspections. These inspections do not represent the whole network. New national standards are presently being introduced which will collect data for the complete network. These changes may affect the estimated funding required to deal with the maintenance backlog.

3. United Kingdom Pavement Management System

3.1 Hampshire has benefited from developing a regular highway assessment system (HAMP) over 20 years ago, which was a forerunner to and followed the recommendations of the Local Authority Association Code of Good Practice for Highway Maintenance 1983.

3.2 Over the last five years, however, the national focus has been on developing and using a single national systematic network condition assessment method. This computerised system is called the UKPMS and as such will form the basis of all highway condition assessments to calculate network maintenance needs. Importantly, this new system will also give Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) which are required by the Department for Transport (DfT). The system will become the means by which funding, based on priorities, will be allocated for the principal roads network by the DfT.

3.3 The County Council introduced the Exor UKPMS system in 2001 and it is being developed and implemented in stages to meet BVPI requirements. The UKPMS system is based on a visual assessment of condition which will replace both the HAMP and General Inspection arrangements over the next two years. UKPMS will also include `non-visual' assessment techniques, such as Deflectograph (which assesses the structural life of pavement) and Scrim (which assesses skid resistance of network), etc.

3.4 One key advantage of the UKPMS system is that it provides a complete picture of the whole network condition, along with a performance indicator. The existing arrangements give only a sample of the network in a snapshot in time. Therefore, along with the anticipated development and use of automated vehicle based survey techniques (TRACS) utilising UKPMS, a more complete understanding of the maintenance needs and associated treatment strategies may be developed to meet the Government's objectives.

Recommendation

That the report be noted.

7601/RC