Road investment continues to reap rewards, says council
Argyll and Bute Council claims ongoing investment in the authority’s roads continues to halt deterioration, with the overall condition of roads showing ‘continued improvement’.
Argyll and Bute remains in the top five fastest improving Scottish local authorities in terms of road condition.
The Annual Status and Options Report summarises the council’s road assets as at April 2018 and sets out future investment options.
The latest Road Condition Indicator survey shows that a smaller percentage of roads – 16.10 per cent – are flagged as in a ‘red’ condition with 45.83 per cent in the green zone.
Road condition is measured by the Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey which assesses parameters such as surface texture and cracking, smoothness and rutting.
Since February 2018, additional investment in roads has prioritised cost-effective treatments that will cover more area, seal cracks and prevent water penetration. This work protects previous investment until more robust treatments can be afforded.
Supporting the increased funding is an enhanced carriageway inspection regime which identifies and deals with faults before they become issues for road users.
Councillor Robin Currie, policy lead for Housing, Roads and Infrastructure Services, said: ‘Maintaining our roads is challenging. Nearly one third of our network is made up of unclassified roads, more than 80 per cent of the network is in rural areas and 23 per cent are over peat, which costs more for construction and maintenance.
‘We do all we can to make the most of the funding we have available to us and, thanks to the measures that have been taken, can see steady improvements being made.
‘I’m pleased these roads improvements have been made because of addition allocations, agreed by the council, in recent years.’