Department for Transport's additional funding for severe winter weather damage

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The winter of 2010/11 was another prolonged period of severe winter weather which had a serious effect on the highway network. The mixture of wet and freezing weather caused severe damage to roads in many locations in Wiltshire. Where there was a minor fault in the surface this freeze and thaw action resulted in the defect becoming very much worse. This is often a seasonal problem, but has been particularly noticeable with the recent severe winters.

In recognition of the difficulties faced by highway authorities nationally, the Department for Transport provided additional funding, and Wiltshire received £3,741,300 for the financial year 2011/12. The funding was for repairs to the authority’s highway network resulting from the winter weather. Each authority has been requested to provide a brief public statement on how it spent the money, and the following information describes how Wiltshire Council used this funding.

Wiltshire already had a significant programme of highway works planned for this year comprising £10,931,000 of the LTP major maintenance funding and £1,279,000 of the Council’s own capital funding. The winter damage funding has complemented and not displaced the originally proposed highway maintenance funding. It has significantly increased the expenditure on highways maintenance in Wiltshire this year.

The majority of the funding (over £2,500,000) has been used carry out carriageway repairs across the network. This has made permanent repairs to the most damaged areas of carriageway with 112,773m² of resurfacing and carriageway strengthening carried out. The remainder of the funding is being used to carry out in-situ recycling to reconstruct 7,274m² of failed carriageway on a rural minor road, to repair the road surfaces around manhole covers and gully gratings at a number of sites, and to repair damaged road edges and verges.

The winter damage repair money has been targeted at those sites in worst condition, and the durability of the repairs has been an important consideration, as has targeting the appropriate sites. This repair work has been carried out across the network and is in addition to the extensive programme of resurfacing being carried out this year. The Council’s consultants Mouchel managed the programme and the term maintenance contractor Ringway provided additional resources to make the repairs. The Council has been fortunate in being able to call on the expertise of its supply chain partners to deliver these projects.

The best means of preventing damage to the highway network remains a regular and sustained programme of carriageway surfacing that prevents water entering the surface .The Council has an on going programme of road maintenance and surfacing work, and there is a corporate target to reduce the maintenance backlog by 10% over four years. Wiltshire Council remains committed to improving its highway network, and has made good use of the additional funding.

Last updated: 12 October 2011