Delivering well-maintained highways

The highway network is the largest and most visible community asset for which local authorities are responsible. It is used daily by the majority of people and is fundamental to the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the community. It helps to shape the character and quality of the local areas that it serves and makes an important contribution to wider local authority priorities, including regeneration, social inclusion, community safety, education and health. In order to fulfil its potential it is crucial that the highway network is maintained. Increasing traffic growth has brought increasingly widespread recognition of the importance of highway maintenance and the high value placed on it by users. However, this importance has not generally been reflected in levels of investment, and public concern has been increasing about the implications of this for safety and journey reliability. Recent increases in investment have been welcome but a sustained long-term programme that is efficiently mana...