Rough ride ahead on Argyll roads
Argyll and Bute Council is facing a struggle if it is ever to lose its tag as having the most roads in need of repair in Scotland, the council’s chief executive has admitted, writes Kathie Griffiths.
Pippa Milne was reacting to a recent report by Audit Scotland which stated that the area has the highest percentage of roads needing repair in the country.
The report, which said that the council was improving but needed to do more, was discussed at a full council meeting conducted via Skype on Thursday June 30.
Councillor Donnie McMillan said: ‘One thing that came to me was that the roads in Argyll and Bute are the highest in need of repair in Scotland. Is there any reason why they are mentioned there, and how does the council plan to resolve this situation?’
Ms Milne said: ‘This has been an issue we have had for some time – we have been on the bottom of the leader board, but we have been among the fastest improving. Because of the investment made in roads, we have taken some real steps forward.
‘One issue we have is that many of our roads started as tracks and are not fully engineered, so will be steeply inclined. With the current measurements, we will struggle to ever get off the bottom of the leader board. This is one where we need to take a view of what we want to see.
‘We could resurface a road on one of our islands and it could in our view be a very good finish, but it could still score less well than a potholed road in a city.
‘We have made some significant progress, but unfortunately the only real way to make inroads is through significant investment. That is challenging with the budgets and capital we have at our disposal.’
The Audit Scotland report, issued in May, said: ‘For road classes A, B and C, the council has the highest percentage of roads in need of repair of all councils in Scotland.’
Approximately 23 per cent of Argyll and Bute’s roads are constructed on peat, which means the roads are prone to movement. Where roads are in need of repair, the council’s strategy is to use surface dressing techniques rather than full reconstruction.
Trunk roads are managed by Transport Scotland and maintained by BEAR Scotland.