Perthshire Advertiser

Road report reveals 37% below standard

Maintenanc­e statistics show rise on 2012 figures

- Robbie Chalmers

A new report has revealed that over one-third of the roads in Perth and Kinross were examined for, or in need of, repairs in 2017 - higher than five years ago.

The roads asset annual status report shows that 37 per cent of roads were below the “acceptable condition” level with 31 per cent needing “further investigat­ion to establish if treatment is required” and the bottom six per cent having “deteriorat­ed to the point at which repairs to prolong future life should be considered.”

However, council bosses insist the situation as “stabilised” in recent years.

The statistics were revealed at the

It had previously been suggested some potholes in Perth were so big you could have a bath in them environmen­t and infrastruc­ture committee on Wednesday, November 7 and highlights a rise from 2012 where 35 per cent of the region’s roads were below the “acceptable standard level”.

The report also reveals the council’s roads maintenanc­e partnershi­p budget for financial year 2018/19 stands at £10,427,000 in order to help maintain the region’s travel routes.

The report says: “The overall condition of the council’s roads network and associated infrastruc­ture has stabilised following a number of years of decline. Strategies and future programmes continue to assist in mitigating this along with the future impact of additional funding allocated to the roads asset base in June 2018.

“The roads maintenanc­e strategy, implemente­d through the approved roads asset management plan, directs where the available funding is spent and is currently targeted at the council’s primary road network, with lower category roads receiving less expensive treatments such as patching and surface dressing.

“It is recommende­d that the committee requests the executive director of housing and environmen­t to continue to submit an annual report on the performanc­e of, and investment in, the council’s roads assets in accordance with the approved asset management plan, including benchmarki­ng informatio­n. The overall network condition has remained static from last year.

“However our A class network has shown an improvemen­t, confirming that the roads maintenanc­e strategy approved by the enterprise and infrastruc­ture committee on April 2, 2014 is beginning to have a positive impact on the condition of the network.

“It should be noted, however, that the condition will continue to be directly affected by weather events.”

 ??  ?? Hole lot of bother
Hole lot of bother

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