The Chief Executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA), Mike Hansford, has met face-to-face with MPs and other leading industry figures to debate and discuss how to solve the UK’s pothole crisis.
More than 70 parliamentarians were yesterday given unrivalled insight in how best to tackle the UK’s pothole crisis at a first-of-its-kind event organised by the RAC at Westminster.
The event saw senior representatives from the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA), Institute of Highways Engineers (IHE), Asphalt Industry Association (AIA) and Road Emulsion Association (REA) share their expert knowledge with MPs and peers of all political parties, advising how councils can best use the funding they have to look after their road networks.
Parliamentarians were also given easy access to a range of the latest data points, allowing them to both understand the condition of the roads within their individual constituencies, and see how much proactive maintenance – including preservation treatment and full resurfacing – councils have completed.
The combination of expert insights, together with data that revealed the true state of the roads, was designed to give MPs and peers the evidence they need to encourage local authorities to change the way they think about road maintenance. This can help ensure they make the very best use of the record £1.6bn funding they are receiving from the Government this financial year.
Talking about attending the event, Mike Hansford said: “This was a unique and highly engaging event organised by the RAC, which gave industry representatives the opportunity to communicate directly with members of parliament about the current pothole situation, and to share information on how investing more into proactive road surface treatments will prevent the future formation of potholes. Discussions also included permanent repair solutions, both to potholes and end of life roads.
“We were delighted to speak with the Future of Roads Minister, Lillian Greenwood, who advocates the use of preventative road maintenance treatments and permanent repairs. We were also able to reinforce the message of the need for a longer term commitment to highway maintenance funding, to support local highway authority maintenance plans.”
The RSTA has been campaigning for more surface treatments to be used as part of a proactive asset management strategy that stops potholes from forming in the first place. A proactive and preventative maintenance strategy that includes all the treatments and innovation available to highway engineers is the only way we can drive down the cost of repairs for the public and stop potholes
Investing comparatively smaller sums in earlier, more frequent, preventative maintenance through early to mid life roads, will stop them progressing into poor condition roads, where unpredictable and expensive potholes will form, and further deteriorate to a point of requiring expensive replacement, said the RSTA.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams , who also attended the event, said: “We have long advocated councils take a much more proactive approach to looking after their roads and put an end to the cycle of merely filling potholes. We need to shift the focus to carrying out the right type of maintenance at the right time, so our roads aren’t left to deteriorate. Preserving those that are currently in reasonable condition – using techniques such as surface dressing – and resurfacing the ones that are beyond repair is the ultimate answer to getting rid of the country’s potholes.
“While there’s a huge way to go to get our roads up to a better standard – a point we highlighted earlier this week when we announced the number of pothole-related breakdowns the RAC attended had doubled in the last quarter – we’ve got to start somewhere.
“It’s extremely positive that MPs and peers have heard from industry experts exactly what needs to be done to make our roads better at such an early stage in the new Parliament. We hope MPs will use their new knowledge to work constructively with councils up and down the country. We were delighted that Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood took the time to attend and was receptive to the approach being advocated by the experts we had assembled.
“Knowing the poor state of local roads is motorists’ top concern by a significant margin, the RAC is committed to doing all it can to make driving a smoother experience, and bringing government closer to the road maintenance industry is absolutely key to that.”
PIC-RAC
