Road inspections
Case reference FOI2025/00125
Received 23 January 2025
Published 13 March 2025
Request
I kindly request some information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 about your council’s road inspection activities and expenditures. If possible, I would greatly appreciate details on the following:
1. The annual expenditure on road inspections over the past three years.
2. The typical frequency of inspections for different categories of roads.
3. The total mileage of roads inspected annually, categorized by road type.
4. The methods used for conducting road inspections (e.g., manual, AI-based, or automated systems).
5. The number of staff or resources allocated to road inspection activities.
6. Any specific standards or guidelines followed for road inspections.
7. The number of defects identified and resolved annually, along with a breakdown by road category and defect severity, if available.
8. Whether third-party contractors are involved in road inspections, including contractor names and associated costs, if applicable.
9. Any notable changes in the road inspection budget over the past five years.
10. Whether road inspections are integrated with other assessments, such as monitoring air quality or drainage.
Response
1. The annual expenditure on road inspections over the past three years.
National Highways does not hold data on the amount spent on inspections because our financial systems do not categorise spend to this level.
2. The typical frequency of inspections for different categories of roads.
Please find attached the GS801 Asset Delivery Asset Inspections standard, which sets out the different types and frequencies of inspections to be undertaken on the Strategic Road Network - GS 801 - Asset delivery asset inspection requirements (https://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/search/6b558352-5c85-4725-b5f2- f796f53d63a8)
3. The total mileage of roads inspected annually, categorized by road type.
The strategic road network comprises of 6941km of road, of which 2971km are motorways and 3970km are all purpose trunk roads (APTR). The frequency of roads inspections are set by standard GS801.
4. The methods used for conducting road inspections (e.g., manual, AI-based, or automated systems).
Annual traffic speed condition surveys use automated systems and inspections are typically manual. There are also specialist surveys for assets such as legacy concrete roads (https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/concrete-roads/) which supplement inspections with automated surveys that use AI to identify types of surface defect.
5. The number of staff or resources allocated to road inspection activities
National Highways Operations Directorate has over 3800 employees, with over 200 in roles primarily focused on delivering inspections across different asset types on the network.
6. Any specific standards or guidelines followed for road inspections.
Annual traffic speed condition surveys and operational inspections routinely carried as part of the inspection programme as detailed in the Design Manual for Roads and bridges (DMRB). The relevant DMRB documents are:
7. The number of defects identified and resolved annually, along with a breakdown by road category and defect severity, if available.
In 2023/24, across all of our motorways and A roads, there were 51,358 defects of which 86% were rectified within specified timescales. Of these, 25,965 were categorised as defects to be rectified within 24 hours, and 87.4% were rectified within this timescale.
Maintaining and investing in our roads is a priority and for the last seven years we have consistently met the national target which is 96.2% of our motorways and major A roads are in good condition.
8. Whether third-party contractors are involved in road inspections, including contractor names and associated costs, if applicable.
All asset condition inspections for Road’s assets including Pavement, Road Markings, Road Studs, VRS, Signs, and Boundary Fence are completed in-house by National Highways. National Highways responsibilities include both safety and condition surveys upon the affected asset and all associated collection and management of asset condition data. Additional surveys or specialist inspections required for scheme development would be completed utilising third-party contractors and would be selected from our authorised approved contractor list as specified by NH TST contract (Technical surveys and Testing).
9. Any notable changes in the road inspection budget over the past five years.
Please see response to question 1.
10. Whether road inspections are integrated with other assessments, such as monitoring air quality or drainage.
All inspections requiring traffic management implementation are planned and programmed alongside cyclic maintenance closures to maximise productivity within the lane closures already in place. Typically, this could include activities such as drainage maintenance or grass cutting closures.
Documents
This is National Highways' response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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