The opportunity to make a difference: RSTA urges wise highways maintenance investment
If invested properly the recently announced record levels of highways maintenance funding could make a huge difference to the condition of the UK local road network by 2030, according to The Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA). The RSTA has welcomed the Government announcement of a record £7.3billion of local highway maintenance capital funding between 2026/27 […]
Surface dressing playing ‘crucial role’ in road network protection, says RSTA
The recent increase in use of surface dressing by some local authorities announced by the Road Emulsion Association shows the crucial role surface treatments play in protecting our road network, says the Road Surface Treatment Association (RSTA). It is no surprise that preventative treatments such as surface dressing are being more widely used, as not […]
Pothole-related breakdowns up by a quarter in just 12 months, says RAC
The number of drivers falling foul of potholes and breaking down rose by 25% between July and September compared to the same period last year, according to new figures from the RAC’s Pothole Index. RAC patrols attended 5,035 pothole-related breakdowns this summer for jobs such as broken suspension springs, distorted wheels and damaged shock absorbers […]
Policy unpicked: What Simon Lightwood’s plans mean for Britain’s road network on today’s Highways Voices, thanks to Westcotec, SWARCO, Clearway and Arcadis
The Roads and Buses Minister Simon Lightwood MP gave his first major speech in his new role at Highways UK today (Thursday) and you can hear it in full on today’s Highways Voices podcast. In today’s podcast, sponsored by Clearway, Westcotec, Arcadis and SWARCO, he is joined by technology innovators and industry experts who discuss the future of the UK’s road […]
RAC and RSTA call on Government to mandate preventative road maintenance training
The RAC and the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) have today written to the Minister for the Future of Roads Lilian Greenwood calling for the Government to introduce mandatory training for councils who carry out little or no maintenance to prevent potholes forming. At the start of Pothole Prevention Week (8-14 September), the two organisations […]
Does the RIS3 draft strategy put enough emphasis on preventative road maintenance strategies, asks the RSTA
Does National Highways’ Draft Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3) put enough emphasis on preventative road maintenance strategies, to meet its objectives of managing road condition, securing network resilience, reducing carbon and reducing impact on road users? That is the question raised by the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA), after the publication of the Draft Road […]
RSTA welcomes the focus on long-term road maintenance
The Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) has welcomed the Government’s commitment to longer-term road maintenance by committing a total of £24 billion from 2026/7-2029/30 for local and national road maintenance. For a long time, the RSTA has called for more preventative maintenance to be adopted to stop more and more roads falling into poor condition […]
RSTA Chief Executive Mike Hansford joins MPs and roads experts as they meet face-to-face to help solve Britain’s pothole crisis
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 […]
Net zero is ‘in the grasp’ of local authorities
The new edition of the RSTA Carbon Emissions Document shows surface treatments remove significant amounts of carbon from maintenance process. Net zero is finally in grasp of local authorities, with the potential to remove carbon from the highway maintenance process higher than ever for those implementing surface treatments into their strategies. This is one of […]
Rethinking Road Maintenance: The 2025 ALARM survey, funding challenges and smarter solutions with the RSTA
We discuss how to drive better value from the highway maintenance funding on this week’s Highways Voices, with Mike Hansford, Chief Executive of the RSTA. “Our approach to road maintenance isn’t working,” he says, as he asks are we truly making the most of our funding, or are we stuck in an inefficient cycle of reactive […]