The English Local Road Network (ELRN) makes up 88% of the UK’s road network and has an asset value of £400 billion, according to the Department for Transport. Every local authority has a legal duty to maintain the highways in their area to prevent deterioration and disruption to road users. However, inefficient processes and limited funding have created a known backlog of work which is causing significant delays in works.
In order to improve the current situation, the Transport Committee has made a number of recommendations that focus on reducing the complexity of maintenance work across multiple stakeholders. The goal is to enable local authorities to control, procure, and prioritise their maintenance framework according to their unique needs and funding available.
Additionally, the Street Manager legislation introduced in July 2020, is another example of how the industry is adopting standardisation to benefit end users. The goal of Street Manager is to improve the efficiency of streetworks through a standardised, coordinated, digital approach to planning. This will minimise disruption to road users and reduce the estimated £4bn annual cost of streetworks in England.
The demands placed on today’s highways maintenance leaders span operational productivity, commercial performance, adherence to best practices and legislation, and new business generation. Delivering against such high expectations requires local authorities to collaborate and overcome the challenges associated with divided ownership and enhance value for end road users.
Causeway’s Infrastructure Maintenance Management (IMM) solution offers an integrated platform that delivers digital transformation for businesses such as Hanson, Kier, Eurovia, Skanska, Ringway Jacobs and other leading names in the UK.
Our Digitalising Highways Maintenance eBook provides local authority highways maintenance leaders with practical advice to enable you to optimise your workforce, gain complete transparency into operational performance, profitability, and automate legal compliance processes.
