COUNTIES GIVE BUMPY RIDE TO DTP ROUTINE MAINTENANCE CODE

An account is given of some of the new guidelines for routine trunk and motorway maintenance that the Department of Transport has introduced. The code of practise marks a new approach to cyclic maintenance on the Department's roads which the counties manage. Instead of cutting grass, cleaning gulleys and sweeping streets at intervals that county surveyors think are sensible and appropriate the code lays down intervals that the Department of Transport deems are appropriate. The DTP code insists on more inspections, the theory being to start with minimum standards and revise them upwards only when inspections establish the need. Some of the criticisms of county surveyors from different parts of the country are reported. These include: the minimum standards are too low; the procedure to get a local variation is bureaucratic; and the new code will lead to a deterioration in safety standards, appearance, and condition of motorways and trunk roads. However in answer to the criticism that it has pitched its standards too low the DTP has pointed out that in the past standards varied greatly from county to county. The new code also requires the county agents to build an inventory of the highway infrastructure in their area. Details are given of the hand held computer and menu driven software the Department will provide for carrying out this inventory collection. (TRRL)