Road resurfacing budget runs out of cash due to spiralling costs
ROAD resurfacing work across South and East Ayrshire has been brought to a halt as spiralling costs have seen it spend its entire budget in just over half a year.
But roads chiefs have insisted that they will ensure no roads are left in a dangerous condition after councillors raised concerns.
Just under a half of East Ayrshire’s 2022/23 road resurfacing programme has been completed, while a third of South Ayrshire Council’s two-year resurfacing programme for 2022/24 has been completed.
The annual budget for East Ayrshire’s road resurfacing was £5.125m, while South Ayrshire’s was £3.5m. Ayrshire Roads Alliance maintains roads for both councils.
ARA head Kevin Braidwood reported to the Ayrshire Shared Services Committee: “Due to the increase in road materials, fuel and the withdrawal of fuel relief for red diesel, a review of spend has been carried out.”
Mr Braidwood said that there were two options. Either return to work in the new year, using money ‘stolen’ from the 2023/24 budget, or suspend the work until the start of the new financial year. The financial situation had not been helped by the failure to secure Timber Transport fund money.
Girvan Independent Councillor Alec Clark raised his concerns that this could be more than an inconvenience.
He said: “The problem with rescheduling resurfacing in some areas is that it is a danger to traffic and human life.”
Mr Braidwood insisted:
“We will continue to monitor all of these roads and carry out safety repairs where necessary.”
Cllr Clark responded: “If we had a crystal ball to see what inflation would be that would be fine.”
South Ayrshire Councillor Ian Davis asked: “Is this because the whole capital budget for road resurfacing over this financial year has been spent and that is why it ‘The problem in some areas is that it is a danger to traffic and human life’ has to be suspended?
“Or is this just an indication that it needs to be completely reassessed to priorities some projects over others?
South Ayrshire SNP member William Grant also had concerns about safety and suggested signage for roads that were on the programme but are now being postponed.
He said: “I think my concern is that constituents of East and South Ayrshire really need to know what is going on.
“In four or five months of rain and cold, roads will deteriorate really badly. Can I ask that if the roads are getting to this stage and we are only patching, can we put signage to tell people to slow down because roads aren’t in a suitable condition.”
Mr Braidwood said he would require to check the legality of such a move.
Cllr Clark added: “I’m not happy with suspending work. I understand what we are saying. I would just like to make sure that we note that this is a safety issue apart from anything else.
“If we stop working on roads, we need to let public know if there is a danger on any of the roads. You can’t just leave it to its own devices. It could lead to accidents.
The decision to suspend the carriageway resurfacing programme was approved.
- Cllr Alec Clark