EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL CABINET – 14 JANUARY 2015 2015/16 PROGRAMME FOR CARRIAGEWAY AND FOOTWAY STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE AND STREET LIGHTING WORKS Report By Acting Executive Director of Neighbourhood Services PURPOSE OF REPORT 1. The purpose of the report is to advise Cabinet on the Condition of the Road Network. 2. To seek Cabinet approval for the 2015/16 Programme for carriageway and footway structural maintenance and for street lighting and to note schemes being considered for future years’ programmes. 3. To seek Cabinet approval to re-profile the allocations for the Roads and Transportation Capital Investment Programme. BACKGROUND 4. At its meeting on 19 March 2014, Cabinet approved revised allocations for the Roads and Transportation Capital Investment Programme. The approved allocations for the next three financial years are as detailed in Table 1 below. Table 1: Capital Investment Budgets 2015/16 – 2017/18 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 3 Year Total Carriageway Structural £2.225m £2.225m £2.225m £6.675m Maintenance Footway Structural £0.475m £0.475m £0.475m £1.425m Maintenance Street Lighting £0.250m £0.250m £0.250m £0.750m Improvement Schemes Total £2.950m £2.950m £2.950m £8.850m 5. It was noted that programmes of work would be reviewed and reprioritised, with updated programmes brought forward for approval on an annual basis. 6. In 2014 the surface dressing programme was not undertaken due to non-availability of specialist plant and contractors. The funding was utilised to bring forward schemes from future years programmes and it is now proposed to bring forward funding from future years to address the surface dressing programme backlog. It is also proposed to bring forward funding from future years to allow all of the carriageway resurfacing schemes on the A713 south of Dalmellington to be undertaken in a single year. This road forms part of the Galloway Tourist Route and it is an essential route for timber transport and close co-ordination with Dumfries and Galloway Council will be required to complete this work. It is proposed to re- profile the budget across all future years and the revised allocation is shown in Appendix 1. 7. Appendix 1 also includes funding for Traffic and Road Safety Schemes, Bridge Strengthening and the A70 Glenbuck Re-alignment. Updates on these programmes will be included in future reports to Cabinet in March 2015. 8. At its meeting on 9 March 2011, Cabinet considered the report on Condition of the Road Network which remitted the Head of Roads and Transportation to report the condition of the road network to Members on an annual basis. 9. Elected Members, Community Councils and Community Action Plan Steering Groups were consulted in the autumn of 2014, requesting schemes to be considered for inclusion in the following year’s programme. 10. The transport infrastructure is one of the most valuable Council assets and it is vital to the economic well-being and development of East Ayrshire. The infrastructure contributes significantly to the local economy and regeneration. In 2014 the road asset was valued at £1.6 billion, with the carriageway alone valued at £1.34 billion. East Ayrshire Council recognises the importance of this asset and an additional £500,000 was committed in the Leader’s Budget announcement on 11 December 2014 to improve the condition of the residential road network in 2015-16. CONDITION OF THE ROAD NETWORK 11. The Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey (SRMCS) commissioned by Society of Chief Officers of Transport in Scotland (SCOTS) on behalf of all Local Authorities in Scotland began in 2002. The surveys cover all local authority A roads in both directions every two years, all B and C roads in both directions every four years and a 10% sample of unclassified roads in one direction every year. This allows a direct year-on-year comparison for the A class network. The results of the survey are used to classify the road network into one of three categories Green – roads are in a satisfactory condition Amber – roads requiring further investigation and/or monitoring. Red – roads where maintenance operations are likely to be required. 12. A Road Condition Index (RCI) is derived from two years survey data and includes both the red and amber categories. The RCI has been adopted as the Statutory Performance Indicator for the condition of the local road network and is defined as “the percentage of the road network which should be considered for maintenance treatment”. An increase in the figure indicates deterioration in road condition. 13. Table 2 summarises the RCI results from the SRMCS over the last five years and the budget allocated to Carriageway Structural Maintenance. Table 2: Road Condition Index 2007/09 – 2013/15 2007/09 2008/10 2009/11 2010/12 2011/13 2012/14 2013/15 Scottish Average 34.2% 36% 37.9% 36.1% 36.2% 36.7% tbc*** East Ayrshire 40.5% 40.1% 45.3% 43.2% 40.6% 41.7% 40.8% East Ayrshire 24 22 24 24 22 23 tbc*** Ranking 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 EAC Carriageway Structural £1.935m £2.093m £3.945m * £3.680m* £2.295m £5.225**m £3.020**m Maintenance Budget * Includes additional funding approved by Council in 2010 and 2011 for frost damage repairs. ** Includes additional funding approved by Council in 2013 and carried over. *** Information not yet available. 14. The additional funding for frost damage repairs in 2010 and 2011 had a beneficial effect on the RCI. The wet winter of 2012-13 impacted adversely on the condition of the road network, particularly on the minor C and U class roads, and is reflected in the RCI for 2012/14. It is noted that the condition of the A class road network improved and for 2012/14 is better than the national average (28.7%), while the B class road network remained constant. Table 3 below shows the RCI for each category of road. Table 3: Road Condition Index by Category 2009/11 – 2013/15 RCI Overall A Class B Class C Class U Class 2013/15 40.8% 24.6% 36.9% 45.5% 44.1% 2012/14 41.7% 26.2% 37.8% 46.5% 45.0% 2011/13 40.6% 29.7% 37.8% 42.1% 43.6% 2010/12 43.2% 35.5% 44.7% 47.3% 42.0% 2009/11 45.3% 38.9% 44.6% 49.0% 45.6% 15. At the meeting on 27 March 2013, Cabinet approved an additional allocation £2.705 million of capital funding for improvements to the road network. During the winter of 2012/13 it became apparent that the condition of the rural ‘U’ class roads was deteriorating as a result of the prolonged wet winter. This was manifesting in a significant increase in the number of potholes being reported. From this increased budget an additional £1.0 million of carriageway resurfacing was undertaken on the rural ‘U’ class network during 2013/2014. This additional investment is reflected in the latest RCI figures for 2013/15 shown in Table 3 above which demonstrate an improvement across the entire network when compared to the previous year. Table 4 below shows the number of pothole reports received over the last five years and demonstrates the positive impact of this investment with the resultant decrease in potholes reported. Table 4: Potholes Reported by Month – 2010/11 – 2014/15 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 April 89 70 51 72 98 May 49 62 40 86 55 June 44 33 38 47 42 July 34 41 42 45 42 Aug 18 25 54 45 43 Sep 38 25 43 47 24 Highest Number Reported Oct 38 28 63 65 31 per Month 2nd Highest No. Reported Nov 41 33 88 66 43 per Month Dec 57 60 124 100 26 Jan 157 379 295 207 Feb 196 419 207 286 March 112 109 115 138 TOTAL 367 842 1450 1190 1035 16. Between April 2011 and March 2014 183km of road has been resurfaced or surface dressed, representing over 14% of the road network. As demonstrated in Table 4 this has resulted in a decrease in the number of potholes reported and consequently the number of liability claims received has decreased from 112 in 2011/12 to 95 in 2013/14. The development of the Road Asset Management Plan has been pivotal in targeting the available resources effectively, particularly with the development of the Scheme Ranking System. The Scheme Ranking System was approved by Cabinet at the meeting of 24 March 2010, and this has allowed the budget to be targeted more effectively with increased investment, particularly on the A class road network, having contributed to the significant improvement on these routes. 17. In 2015/2016 it is proposed to allocate more resources to the urban ‘U’ class network and in particular to the bus routes within the residential areas. The full programme, including the additional areas to be surface dressed, is detailed within Appendix 2. The additional £500,000 committed to improving residential roads will allow the residential road element of the 2016/2017 programme to be brought forward. 18. The revised allocation of £4.22 million for carriageway resurfacing and surface dressing in 2015/2016 is less than the £5 million required to maintain the road network in a steady state. However, some elements of revenue funding, such as structural patching and surface dressing, contribute directly to improving the road condition which closes this gap somewhat. Future years’ budgets are less than 50% of that required to maintain steady state and it is therefore anticipated that the condition of the network may deteriorate over a period of time.