Highway repairs and maintenance

The highways network is Harrow’s largest asset. It includes 1615 roads over 457 km in length and has a gross replacement cost of over £800 million.

There is currently a significant backlog of maintenance that is valued at about £100 million. Therefore it's important to make the best use of our resources and ensure the network remains in a serviceable condition. The council has put in place a system to prioritise resources in the most effective way through two main areas of work:

• reactive maintenance which deals with immediate risks to the public from minor defects
• structural maintenance which addresses large scale refurbishment due to significant deterioration of the highway structure

Reactive maintenance

All footways and carriageways in the borough are inspected by the council three or four times a year. Minor works and repairs are carried out when necessary, for example to potential hazards to pedestrians or vehicles. This work is aimed at keeping the environment safe for the travelling public and to comply with national guidance.

Structural maintenance

Major work programmes are developed on the basis of annual condition surveys. They are done to an agreed UK pavement management assessment system by specialised highway surveyors.

The surveys are reviewed in accordance with the principles of the council’s highway asset management strategy to determine the maintenance priorities for the year. As far as practicable the council will produce a targeted programme of works that takes account of the condition surveys, traffic usage, reactive maintenance history and any other identified risks.

The aim is to achieve the maximum benefit from the resources available so that the longevity of the highway is maximised and the speed of deterioration and any future maintenance costs are minimised. There are two main structural maintenance programmes, one for carriageways resurfacing and the other for footways reconstruction.

Implementation of structural maintenance works

With regard to the implementation of work programmes it is important to note that:

• Residents are notified in advance of any major works and temporary traffic management measures required.
• Works identified may only relate to a part or section of a street where the condition surveys have highlighted structural defects. It is not the norm to do whole streets as a matter of course.
• Any works identified will address serious structural defects in order to minimise future maintenance liabilities and costs. The treatments proposed will be the most cost effective solutions required. Any purely cosmetic treatments will not be taken forward.
• Works require the occupation of road space to be agreed up to three months in advance. They are subject to set timescales and conditions regarding traffic management and so cannot be changed at short notice.
• Works are subject to change in the event of adverse weather conditions, emergencies or unforeseen circumstances that might cause disruption to the flow of traffic.