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A Review of the Management and maintenance arrangements for motorways and trunk roads in England
The current solution
Background
The Highways Agency maintains, operates and improves the network of some 10,500 km of trunk roads and motorways and 16,000 structures in England on behalf of the Secretary of State. This network has an estimated replacement value of around £65 billion.
The Highways Agency works closely with local authorities, rail, coach, bus, water and air operators to integrate this network with the rest of England's roads and other forms of transport.
Since its inception in 1994, the Agency has overseen the rationalisation of the 91 Local Authority Maintenance Areas that were in place to the current 24 Areas. This rationalisation is likely to continue further as the 30% of the trunk road network identified for de-trunking is transferred to Local Authorities.
In each of the 24 maintenance areas the Highways Agency currently procures the management and maintenance service delivery through contracts with a Managing Agent (MA) and a Term Maintenance Contractor (TMC).
Expenditure on road maintenance
In the 1998 "Roads Review" The Government made road maintenance the number one priority for the Highways Agency. This was supported by an increase in funding for road maintenance from £530 million in 1997/98 to £765 million in 99/00. These increased funds and the greater certainty provided by a 3-year budget allocation (the "Comprehensive Spending Review") means that the Agency is now in a better position to operate a long-term programme.
The right maintenance at the right time (ie whole life cost decisions) will be cheaper and deliver the best possible service to road users.
