Contact: Phil Samms, Tel 01256 764444 email [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report outlines progress with regard to the 2003/04 Highway Maintenance and Minor Capital Works programmes and gives an update on the 2003/04 Highway Maintenance budget.

2. Background

2.1 The highway maintenance programme is funded from both revenue and capital allocations.

2.2 The revenue maintenance programme funds minor works, such as pothole repairs and routine drainage work, including gully cleaning, signs and road markings, environmental maintenance of grass verges, trees and shrubs, weed control and highway emergencies. Minor bridge works and winter maintenance are also funded from revenue. Budget allocations are set at a level that ensures the safety and serviceability of the highway network.

2.3 The capital maintenance programme funds planned maintenance, including special maintenance, resurfacing and surface dressing, and also provides for essential repairs to the structure of the highway.

3. Highway Maintenance Budget and Programme 2003/04

3.1 The Highway Maintenance budget for 2003/04, approved by the Executive Member for Environment, is £46,889,000. This sum comprises £19,615,000 revenue funding and £27,274,000 funding from the capital programme provision.

3.2 This year, urban footways have been targeted to maintain accessibility and improve standards in the heavily used areas, reducing the potential for claims. In addition, the rural unclassified road network was severely damaged as a result of the flooding in 2000/01 and requires a sustained, enhanced level of funding to recover.

3.3 To reflect the condition of the footway network in Hampshire, user concerns and the deteriorating condition of the rural unclassified lanes, an additional £3.5 million of funding was specifically allocated by the County Council to these areas of need for 2003/04. Of this funding, £2.5 million was allocated to footway works and £1 million to maintenance of the rural unclassified road networks.

Revenue Maintenance Budget and Programme

3.4 The total allocation for Hart for 2003/04 is £420,000. Progress throughout the year has been in line with the spend profile and it is expected that the programme will be completed within time and budget constraints. A budget monitoring statement is attached as Appendix 1.

3.5 The revenue maintenance programme funds three main areas of highway maintenance:

(i) reactionary minor repair works on the road and footway network;

(ii) maintenance and minor traffic management improvements of signs and road markings; and

(iii) the environmental aspects of highway maintenance, including grass cutting, weed treatment and tree and shrub maintenance.

3.6 Additional revenue budgets are held centrally, which include certain performance elements of the County Council's term maintenance contract. The performance based work contained in the contract includes:

(i) gully and catch-pit emptying;

(ii) rural visibility splay grass cutting; and

(iii) `A' road minor carriageway repairs, road markings, studs, sign cleaning, safety fencing.

Other centrally held budgets cover winter maintenance and ordinary bridge maintenance.

Capital Maintenance Budget and Programme

3.7 The total allocation for Hart for 2003/04 is £1,455,000, which includes £247,000 from the £3.5 million county-wide additional funding previously reported. The funding allocation for the capital maintenance `planned works' programme is based on the proven HAMP rating system and reflects the agreed intervention levels. The HAMP rating intervention level directs funding to those maintenance schemes displaying a higher maintenance need. Planned structural maintenance repairs undertaken through the capital maintenance programme include surface dressing, special maintenance and resurfacing schemes.

3.8 This year's schemes are progressing well, with the expectation that the `planned' maintenance programme will be delivered within time and budget constraints. Progress is shown in Appendix 2.

3.9 The capital maintenance programme also supports the centrally controlled areas of work, including major maintenance schemes and bridge maintenance and the annual programme of surface dressing.

3.10 Surface dressing is an extremely cost-effective way of prolonging the life of the carriageway, sealing cracks and restoring skid resistance. The total budget, county-wide of £3,297,000 is managed centrally and for 2003/04 supported a HAMP intervention level of 50 on the principal road network. High performance surface dressing on the non-principal roads has a HAMP intervention level of 60 and 70 for the urban and minor roads programme respectively.

3.11 In addition, an allocation is also made for the treatment of footways. The original programmed area for Hart in 2003/04 was 28,000 square metres. Efficiencies in the preparation works this year, however, enabled an additional 30,000 square metres to be dressed in the Fleet/Church Crookham area.

3.12 All sites on this year's carriageway and footway surface dressing programmes have now been successfully treated. Details of the locations treated are listed in Appendix 2.

4. Minor Capital Works

4.1 The Minor Capital Works programme (also known as the Under £10,000 programme) is funded from the capital allocation based on the Local Transport Plan submission to the Department for Transport. A sum of £16,500 was allocated for the Hart area in 2003/04 and the schemes included in the programme are:

(i) Griffin Way South - new footway link

(ii) Hawley Church - widening of existing footway.

4.2 The Hawley Church scheme was substituted for Charles Close, Hook, which was found to be no longer required, following discussions with the Parish Council.

4.3 The schemes are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, subject to the resolution of outstanding land issues.

4.4 Unfortunately, progress on the provision of a pedestrian refuge on the A30 at Phoenix Green has continued to prove problematic. Due to the outstanding common land issues, it is now unlikely that this scheme will be able to be implemented.

Recommendation

That this report be noted.

8290/PS

APPENDIX 1

HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS HART

Revenue Budget 2003/04
Routine Maintenance (carriageway, footway repairs)	£158,000
Gully Cleansing	£7,000
Drainage	£35,000
Aids to Movement (lines and signs)	£38,000
Environmental (grass, trees, shrubs)	£129,000
Weed Control	£34,000
Hazard Clearance	£19,000
Total:	£420,000
Capital Budget 2003/04 Principal Roads
Principal Roads Routine Structural Repairs	£34,500
Principal Roads Special Maintenance	£68,500
Principal Roads Resurfacing	£0
Total:	£103,000
Capital Budget 2003/04 Non Principal Roads
Non Principal Roads Routine Structural Repairs	£356,000
Non Principal Roads Special Maintenance	£526,500
Non Principal Roads Resurfacing	£429,500
Non Principal Roads Tactile Paving Crossing Points	£7,000
Held in Reserves	£33,000
Total:	£1,352,000
Total Maintenance Budget Allocation Hart	£1,875,000

APPENDIX 2

HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS HART

2003 - 2004 SPECIAL MAINTENANCE,

RESURFACING AND SURFACE DRESSING PROGRAMME

NON-PRINCIPAL SPECIAL MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME

NON-PRINCIPAL RESURFACING PROGRAMME

PRINCIPAL SPECIAL MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME

SURFACE DRESSING HIGH PERFORMANCE - GROUP 2 (ALL COMPLETE)

SURFACE DRESSING MINOR ROADS - GROUP 3 (ALL COMPLETE)

SURFACE DRESSING MINOR ROADS - GROUP 3 (ALL COMPLETE) Cont'd

FOOTWAY SURFACE DRESSING (ALL COMPLETE)