2013-08-22 Hmop PDF

HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE OPERATIONAL
PLAN
Valid From: October 2008
Highway Maintenance Operational Plan
October 2008
October 2008
CONTENTS
Page No.
INTRODUCTION
THE HIGHWAY NETWORK
Road Classification
Prioritisation of Maintenance
Network Referencing
STANDARDS AND POLICIES
TAMP
Maintenance Instructions and Highway Advice Notes
Suffolk Guide to the Signing of Roadworks
The Suffolk Manual
Traffic Management On Suffolk's Roads
The Suffolk Design Guide
The Environmental Management System (EMS)

Guidance Manual
Winter Service Plan
FINANCE
Funding Sources
10
STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE
12
Condition Assessment
12
United Kingdom Pavement Management System (UKPMS)
15
ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY MAINTENANCE
16
Grass Cutting
16
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Weed Control
17
Skirting
20
Trees and Hedges
21
Drainage Systems
22
Sweeping
23
Traffic Signs and Bollards
24
Road Markings and Road Studs
25
Fences and Barriers
28
RISK MANAGEMENT
29
Safety Inspections
29
PERFORMANCE MONITORING
35
Performance Indicators
35
Benchmarking
36
WORKS BY STATUTORY UNDERTAKERS
37
WINTER SERVICE
39
ROAD LIGHTING
40
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INTRODUCTION
Suffolk County Council is the Highway Authority for all non-trunk roads maintainable
at public expense within Suffolk. As the Highway Authority, the County Council has
to fulfil a number a number of statutory duties, many of which are contained in the
Highways Act, 1980. A number of other Acts impact upon the powers and duties of
the County Council with regard to highway maintenance and reference is made to
some of these Acts within this document.
National recommendations for the provision of the highways maintenance service are
contained within the Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management, as
developed by bodies representing Central Government and local authorities. Whilst
this document is not statutory, it comprises a framework of guidance and standards
about the service. The Code emphasises the linkages between the highway
maintenance service and the asset management philosophy. As a national
document, the Code reflects the need for local discretion and diversity in service
provision. Such flexibility is key in recognising that local service users priorities will
differ, as will the levels of funding available to different authorities.
The Highway Maintenance Operational Plan sets out Suffolk County Councils
approach to providing the highways maintenance service in accordance with
statutory duties, whilst implementing the philosophy of the Code of Practice. This
Plan has been developed alongside Suffolks Transport Asset Management Plan
(TAMP) and will evolve as the TAMP is implemented.
The production of this Plan has been overseen by a County Councillor Working
Group, chaired by the Deputy Portfolio Holder for Roads and Transport. The Plan
has been approved by the Director of Environment and Transport under delegated
powers.
The maintenance of structures within the highway (bridges, culverts and retaining
walls) is not included in this document.
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THE HIGHWAY NETWORK

ROAD CLASSIFICATION
Roads may be classified as: classified numbered ('A' and 'B' roads), classified unnumbered ('C' roads) or unclassified ('U' roads). The classification of roads as 'A', 'B'
or 'C' roads must be approved by Government Office for the Eastern Region (GOEAST) at Bedford.
The road numbers for 'A' and 'B' roads are allocated by GO-EAST but the numbers
for 'C' and 'U' roads are allocated by the HQ Highway Records Team. The only
exception to this is unclassified roads in Ipswich Borough, which are numbered by
the Borough Council. Applications for the re-classification of roads must be made to
GO-EAST and such applications are handled by the HQ Highway Records Team.
PRIORITISATION OF MAINTENANCE
The system of classification as used by Central Government does not necessarily
reflect the needs, priorities and actual use of each road in the network. There may
be aspects of roads of relevance to their maintenance that are determined by a
number of factors. Such factors will include: importance (e.g. a road leading to a
major hospital), environment (e.g. rural, urban, busy shopping street, residential
street etc.) and usage (e.g. traffic flows, bus routes and the like). It is important that
the maintenance strategy reflects these factors and prioritises roads accordingly.
This type of approach is implemented in Suffolk by assigning roads within a defined
hierarchy. This hierarchy of roads is used in the prioritisation of maintenance and,
although not the single arbiter, is a key link between maintenance policy and
implementation.
The Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management contains guidance on
the development of a carriageway hierarchy (see sections 8.7 and 8.8 of the Code),
although it is accepted in the document that there will be significant variations from
the guidance to suit local circumstances.
The guidance given in the Code is as follows:Category
Hierarchy
Description
Type of Road General

Description
Detailed Description
Motorway
Limited access motorway

regulations apply.
Routes for fast moving long distance traffic.

Fully grade separated and restrictions on
use. There are no motorways in Suffolk.
Strategic Route
Trunk and some Principal

'A' roads between Primary
Destinations.
Routes for fast moving long distance traffic

with little frontage access or pedestrian
traffic. Speed limits are usually in excess
of 40 mph and there are few junctions.
Pedestrian crossings are either segregated
or controlled and parked vehicles are
generally prohibited.
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Category
Hierarchy
Description
Type of Road General

Description
Detailed Description
3a
Main Distributor
Major Urban Network and

Inter-Primary Links. Short
- medium distance traffic.
Routes between Strategic Routes and

linking urban centres to the strategic
network with limited frontage access. In
urban areas speed limits are usually 40
mph or less, parking is restricted at peak
times and there are positive measures for
pedestrian safety.
3b
Secondary
Distributor
Classified Road (B and C

class) and unclassified
urban bus routes carrying
local traffic with frontage
access and frequent
junctions.
In rural areas these roads link the larger

villages and HGV generators to the
Strategic and Main Distributor Network. In
built up areas these roads have 30 mph
speed limits and very high levels of
pedestrian activity with some crossing
facilities including zebra crossings. On
street parking is generally unrestricted
except for safety reasons.
4a
Link Road
Roads linking between

the Main and Secondary
Distributor Network with
frontage access and
frequent junctions.
In rural areas these roads link the smaller

villages to the distributor roads. They are
of varying width and not always capable of
carrying two way traffic. In urban areas
they are residential or industrial interconnecting roads with 30 mph speed limits,
random pedestrian movements and
uncontrolled parking.
4b
Local Access
Road
Roads serving limited

numbers of properties
carrying only access
traffic.
In rural areas these roads serve small

settlements and provide access to
individual properties and land. They are
often only single lane width and unsuitable
for HGV. In urban areas they are often
residential loop roads or culs de sac.
The hierarchy as implemented in Suffolk is based upon this guidance. In considering

the relationship between bus routes and hierarchy, account has been taken of bus
services that are hourly or more frequent.
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Whilst the carriageway hierarchy within Suffolk is based upon the guidance in the
Code, experience of individual roads and their maintenance requirements, together
with the principles of risk assessment, have been used in formulating the most
meaningful hierarchy for Suffolk.
The carriageway hierarchy will be monitored to ensure that changes in usage, traffic
flows, environment and any other relevant circumstances are reflected in the
provision of the maintenance service. Any changes to the road network (e.g. the
opening of a new bypass) will be reflected in the hierarchy immediately.

Footway maintenance standards, in common with carriageway maintenance
standards, may not necessarily be reflected by road classification. Pedestrian usage
is more important than the categorisation of the road. Local factors such as the
proximity of schools and shops are also important in this context. Therefore a
separate footway hierarchy has been developed to assist with the prioritisation of the
maintenance of footways. The footway hierarchy within Suffolk has been developed
in accordance with the guidelines as presented in the Code of Practice for Highway
Maintenance Management (see section 8.9 of the Code).
The guidance given in the Code is as below:
Category No.
Category Name
Brief Description
1(a)
Prestige Walking Zones
Very busy towns and cities with high public space

and street scene contribution.
Primary Walking Routes
Busy urban shopping and business areas, and

main pedestrian routes.
Secondary Walking Routes
Medium usage routes through local areas feeding

into primary routes, local shopping centres etc.
Link Footways
Linking local access footways through urban areas

and busy rural footways.
Local Access Footways
Footways associated with low usage, short estate

roads to the main routes and cul- de-sacs.
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The Code recognises that the assignment of a footway to a particular category is a

matter for local discretion and such discretion has been applied in the development
of the footway hierarchy for Suffolk.
The footway hierarchy will be monitored to ensure that changes in usage, pedestrian
levels, environment and any other relevant circumstances are reflected in the
provision of the maintenance service.
Controlled pedestrian crossings within the carriageway will attract the maintenance
standards associated with the relevant footways.
The Code recommends that the maintenance of cycleways should be prioritised and
such prioritisation within Suffolk is based upon the principles outlined in the Code
(see section 8.10 of the Code). The guidance given in the Code is as below:
Category
Description
Cycle lane forming part of the carriageway, commonly 1.5 metre strip adjacent
to the nearside kerb.
Cycle gaps at road closure point (no entries allowing cycle access).
Cycle track, a route for cyclists not contiguous with the public footway or
carriageway.
Shared cycle/pedestrian paths, either segregated by a white line or other
physical segregation, or un-segregated.
Cycle trails, leisure routes through open spaces. These are not necessarily
the responsibility of the highway authority, but may be maintained by an
authority under other powers or duties.
NETWORK REFERENCING
Effective management of the network is facilitated by ready access to information
about the network. A network referencing system has been implemented to enable
data associated with the highway network to be accurately located within the
network. Such data may relate to the condition of the network, the nature of the
network, treatments of the network that have been carried out and any other data
relevant to the management of the highways maintenance service.
The carriageway network has been divided into sections of road. These sections
vary in length from 25 metres to 2 km, with section breaks occurring whenever a
relevant detail of the road changes. Such details include: speed limit, road name,
carriageway hierarchy and number of lanes. Data is kept about the details of each
section, including section length.
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Such division of the road network into discrete sections enables other data to be
referenced against these sections and hence facilitates the process of relating
differing data sets relevant to the same sections of road.
The management of the network referencing system is carried out at Headquarters in
Ipswich and the details of the referencing system are held on a computerised
database.
Work is currently underway to associate the maintenance network sections with a
map based data set, the National Street Gazetteer (NSG). Upon completion of this
exercise, any data held against the network referencing sections will be able to be
displayed on a map base. Thus it will be possible to display inventory information
(e.g. the location of gullies and lamp columns) alongside road condition data, the
locations of utility works etc.
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STANDARDS AND POLICIES

A number of working documents are used within the county to ensure that highway
maintenance standards are applied consistently. The Code of Practice is not
exhaustive in its guidance and these documents provide further advice and
instructions.
TRANSPORT ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN (TAMP)

Suffolks draft TAMP was approved by Cabinet in May, 2006. The document contains
lifecycle plans for each of the transport assets, defines service levels for further
consideration and sets out a number of potential improvement actions for the
transport service. It will be further developed in the light of budgetary constraints and
updated later in 2006. The levels of service derived from the TAMP process are likely
to require revision to some of the standards set out in this Plan.
MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS and HIGHWAY ADVICE NOTES

These documents provide guidance on the methods and standards to be employed
with regard to a number of maintenance operations. Guidance is given on structural
maintenance, routine maintenance, aids to movement, private works and emergency
works. These documents are drafted by officers.
SUFFOLK GUIDE TO THE SIGNING OF ROADWORKS

This document provides guidance for those involved in specifying, designing and
supervising temporary traffic management arrangements for roadworks sites in
Suffolk.
THE SUFFOLK MANUAL

This document contains the following sections:
THE CONSERVATION MANUAL

The Manual suggests ways in which local authorities can work together in order to
co-ordinate the design, financing and implementation of schemes in conservation
areas. It is also a good practice guide for all those working in the public spaces of
conservation areas.
THE COUNTRYSIDE MANUAL

A good practice guide for works in the highway and public spaces in sensitive
countryside areas.
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THE MATERIALS MANUAL

A good practice guide for the laying and use of traditional materials.
THE ACCESS GUIDE

A good practice guide for allowing access for all within the highway and public
spaces.
THE SURFACE DRESSING GUIDE

A good practice guide for surface dressing in enhancement work.
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ON SUFFOLKS ROADS

This document provides guidance on the correct use of signs, with reference to
legislation and national guidance. Guidance is also provided on traffic orders, speed
management, road markings, cycling facilities, bus facilities, pedestrian facilities and
lorry related issues.
THE SUFFOLK DESIGN GUIDE

This design guide sets out the principles which should be adopted by all those
involved in the development of housing areas, whether it be developers, house
builders, local planning authorities or utilities. The key aims of the document are:
To reflect the essential character of Suffolk in new housing estate development

within the county.
Improve the visual appearance of housing estates.
Reduce the impact of new housing on the landscape and to ensure that new
development relates to its surroundings.
Improve the quality of life for residents.
Ensure the provision of a road, cycle and footway network which is safe and
convenient to use and which does not detract from the attractiveness of the
estate.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS) GUIDANCE

MANUAL
This manual sets out the policies and procedures to be followed in relation to the
EMS. There is a specific section related to the work of the Integrated Transport
Operations Division and its activities. The manual provides guidance on the
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procedures to be carried out with regard to the environmental effects of highway

maintenance operations.
WINTER SERVICE PLAN

This Plan details the authoritys policies and procedures for dealing with frost, ice and
snow on the highway network.
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FINANCE
The funds used to provide the highways maintenance service are split between
capital and revenue.
Capital funding is that which is used to add to the highway asset or significantly
increase its remaining life. Major resurfacing schemes and the provision of new
pavements are examples of those works funded from capital.
Revenue funding is used for the day-to-day recurring activities required to maintain
the countys highway network. Examples of revenue funded activities include grass
cutting and gully emptying.
Capital and revenue funding is derived from a number of sources, briefly described
below.
REVENUE FUNDING SOURCES

Formula Spending Share (FSS), Rates and Council Tax
The County Council receives its own share of revenue funding from FSS and nondomestic rate income. The level of funding via FSS is determined by Central
Government, based on a formula. The highways maintenance component of FSS is
derived from road length statistics, traffic flow counts and the number of days of lying
snow.
The difference between the County Councils budget and the sum of FSS and Rate
income will dictate the amount of funding required by the County Council via the
Council Tax.
CAPITAL FUNDING SOURCES

The Local Transport Plan (LTP)
The LTP establishes objectives, targets and required capital expenditure over a five
year period. The countys second LTP was published in April 2006 and sets out how
maintenance activities will contribute to the shared themes of Accessibility, reducing
Congestion, improving Air Quality and Safety. The LTP is closely linked to the
countys Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP).
The capital funding allocated to Suffolk County Council via the LTP for maintenance
will be closely linked to the authoritys performance as measured by the Core
Indicators contained within the Plan. These indicators include the Best Value
Performance indicators (BVPIs) associated with highway condition.
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Partnership Working
The Directorate encourages, where appropriate, partnership approaches to optimise
funding for projects and to achieve the most widely accepted outcomes possible.
Sources of scheme contributions can include other Local Authorities, local
communities such as Parish Councils, charitable organisations such as English
Heritage and, on minor projects, individual contributions via Locality Budget funds
from County Councillors.
"Single Capital Pot"

A proportion of the capital funds held by the County Council is set to one side and
placed in the so-called "Single Capital Pot". The various departments within the
authority may then bid for the use of these funds. This approach enables such funds
to be used in areas that reflect the priorities of the Authority.
Bids are made for some of this money to be used for the highways maintenance
service. Successful bids against this "pot" have included the construction of salt
domes for the storage of de-icing salt for winter maintenance.
External Funding Sources

A number of external sources of funding are available to the Council. The Authority
seeks to maximise the contribution it receives from such external sources and
managers from the highways maintenance service regularly liaise with external
funding groups.
Such sources of external funding include the national lottery and various streams of
European Community funding.
Prudential Borrowing
The Prudential Code enables Suffolk County Council to supplement its capital
allocation via the use of prudential borrowing. This permits the authority to borrow
capital from Central Government, but such funding incurs future revenue funding
charges. Therefore the impact upon the authoritys revenue budgets needs to be
considered when deciding whether to apply for funds via the Prudential Code.
Suffolk County Council has utilised prudential borrowing to help improve the
condition of the countys unclassified roads, by borrowing 2.5M per year for a five
year period. This represents an invest to save approach and is more fully explained
in the TAMP. The same approach has been used to replace the life expired street
lighting stock.
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STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE
A broad range of treatments is available for maintaining the structural integrity of the
highway network. These treatments range from surface treatments, such as surface
dressing, to complete reconstruction of the road or pavement. The selection of the
appropriate treatment and, more importantly, the timing of its application, are pivotal
to economically and effectively maintaining the countys network of roads and
pavements.
CONDITION ASSESSMENT
The selection and timing of structural maintenance treatments will always involve
engineering judgement. It is important that engineers have quality data regarding the
condition of the network to help inform decisions regarding the selection and
prioritisation of treatments. The County Council commissions a variety of condition
assessment surveys to that end:
Skidding Resistance
As roads are trafficked they tend to become more polished. Polishing may diminish
the ability of the road to prevent vehicles skidding in wet conditions. Such lack of
skidding resistance may be treated in a variety of ways, including surfacing
treatments and re-texturing of the road surface. To target such treatments, skid
resistance surveys are carried out on the more highly trafficked roads in the county.
The machine used to measure skid resistance is known as a SCRIM. This stands for
Sideways force Coefficient Routine Investigation Machine.
The objective when assessing skid resistance is to provide skid resistance levels
appropriate to the risk of skidding accidents at each site. Certain sites, such as
approaches to roundabouts and pedestrian crossings, will require higher levels of
skidding resistance than, for instance, straight roads with no junctions. To reflect the
appropriate levels of skidding resistance, investigatory levels are set for the roads
throughout the county. These investigatory levels take into account such factors as
the position of the road within the maintenance hierarchy, the geometry of the road
and the vicinity of junctions and crossings.
The Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance (COP) refers to the Highway
Agencys skidding resistance standard HD28/04. However, this advice is for trunk
roads. The investigatory levels used in Suffolk are based on this guidance, with
some local variations. Suffolk has a lower investigatory level for non-event, Category
2 sections and has perpetuated an investigatory level of 0.35 for non-event (Category
3) and low risk (Category 4) roads. HD 28/04 contains no investigatory levels for
Category 3 and 4 roads. Due to the differences in geometry between county roads
and trunk roads, Suffolk County Council will continue to assign investigatory levels
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for bends of < 250m and < 100m radii. This is a less onerous definition of slight bend
but a higher investigatory level for sharp bends. These local variations have been
used for some years in the county and experience suggests that they are
appropriate. Most skidding accidents do not occur on these categories of road and
the principles of risk management have been applied in deciding to implement these
variations.
All roads of maintenance hierarchy 3B and higher are tested with a SCRIM machine
each year and the investigatory levels assigned to these sections of road are
checked prior to these annual surveys.
The results of SCRIM surveys are compared with accident statistics and those sites
below investigatory level that have a poor wet skidding accident history are prioritised
for treatment. The results of this analysis also assist with the formulation of
maintenance programmes, such as surface dressing.
Suffolk County Council only erects slippery road signs where SCRIM readings are
below the relevant investigatory level and the site has a poor wet skidding accident
record. The signs remain in place until remedial treatment is undertaken.
Suffolk County Councils policy for dealing with early life skid resistance is detailed in
Highway Advice Note 1.14. This strategy is based upon the Highway Agencys
Interim Advice Note 49/03.
Residual Life
The action of traffic on roads tends to have a weakening effect over time. The
cumulative effect of heavy traffic reduces the ability of roads to carry traffic without
deformation. A road is expected to last for a certain period of time before it will
require strengthening or reconstruction. It is useful to be able to assess how much
life a road has left before its structural behaviour will become unpredictable and
structural failure may occur. Highways engineers are able to use such information
when assessing how and when to structurally strengthen a road.
To assess the residual life of the major roads within the county, a machine called a
deflectograph is used. This machine measures how much a road flexes under a
known load. From these measurements it is possible to determine residual life and
an indication of the amount of material that would have to be added to the road to
extend its life by a given period.
Data derived from these surveys is used extensively in the prioritisation of
maintenance for the countys principal roads and in the design of maintenance
treatments.
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Visual Condition
The visual condition of roads and footways is extensively used in the prioritisation
and design of maintenance treatments.
Safety Inspections are carried out to identify defects requiring early remedial work
for risk management purposes from the Area and Agent offices. The frequencies of
these inspections, together with which defects are recorded is covered in the Risk
Management Section of this Plan.
Safety inspections and further visual inspections are used by the local offices to aid
the formulation of works programmes, such as carriageway or footway repairs or the
renewal of road markings.
The authority commissions a programme of Coarse Visual Inspections (CVI) that
are carried out on the unclassified roads in the county. These surveys are conducted
from a vehicle and enable the recording of such defects as cracking, crazing and
rutting. CVI surveys are performed to national standards. The data from CVI
surveys facilitates the comparison of the condition of roads in Suffolk with those in
other areas of the country, via the production of Best Value Performance Indicators.
The objective data derived from these surveys is also used to facilitate the
apportionment of budgets within the county on a needs basis.
Detailed Visual Inspections (DVI) enable the collection of much more detail
relevant to defects on roads and pavements. Such defects as cracking, subsidence,
chip loss and the like are all recorded, together with their associated dimensions.
The primary use of such surveys is to assess the condition of the busier pavements
within the county. DVI surveys are used to compare the condition of busier
pavements in Suffolk with those in other areas of the country and to assist with the
apportionment of budgets for pavement maintenance.
SCANNER Surveys
A machine known as a SCANNER also assesses the condition of roads. SCANNER
stands for Surface Condition Assessment for the National Network of Roads. These
machines travel at traffic speeds and record a number of characteristics of the road,
including: rutting, cracking, texture and ride quality.
SCANNER machines survey the A, B and C roads in Suffolk.
The Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) associated with the condition of
principal and classified, non-principal roads are derived from SCANNER data. These
indicators are the key measures of the condition of these roads and are used to
compare Suffolks performance with that of other authorities.
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UNITED KINGDOM PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (UKPMS)

UKPMS is a system that relates the objective assessment of the condition of
highways to the maintenance treatments to be applied. The system also enables the
treatments to be applied at the optimum time. UKPMS is a national standard.
Suffolk County Council runs a UKPMS system, which is fully compliant with the
national standards and has achieved full UKPMS accreditation. The system used in
Suffolk is the Insight system.
Many of the pavement condition surveys described earlier produce data that is input
into the UKPMS system. CVI, SCANNER and DVI survey data for roads and
footways constitute important inputs into UKPMS; deflectograph and SCRIM data are
also input into the system.
The use of UKPMS enables treatment of roads and footways to be prioritised on a
worst first basis, whereby those areas that are in poorest condition are treated
preferentially. However, the real power of UKPMS is that it enables the projection of
highway condition forward in time. This projection enables maintenance treatments
to be applied at the most economically advantageous time. In some cases the best
solution for a road may be to permit further deterioration while this does not lead to a
more onerous (and hence more expensive) treatment, or increased risk of accidents.
Some of the Best Value Performance Indicators for the condition of roads and
footways are produced via UKPMS. Using such inputs as CVI, SCANNER and DVI
data, indicators can be produced that enable the comparison of the condition of the
highway network in Suffolk with that in other counties.
The use of all the facilities available within the UKPMS system will be one of the key
tools in ensuring that the maintenance of the highway network in the county is carried
out in a sustainable manner. Condition projection and the timely application of
treatments will ensure that funds are targeted where they are most likely to preclude
the need for deeper treatments in the future. It is these deeper treatments that
produce the most material for disposal and require the greatest inputs in terms of
new materials and energy. Such treatment prioritisation will minimise the adverse
environmental effects of highway maintenance, whilst optimising the contribution to
the condition of the network from the funds available.
Condition projection and deterioration modelling will be important tools in the
implementation of Suffolks Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP). These
techniques will help engineers formulate programmes of work based upon their likely
effects on the lifecycles of transport assets and their ramifications in terms of
performance indicators.
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ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY CONDITION AND

MAINTENANCE STANDARDS
GRASS CUTTING
Safety
Grass is cut for safety purposes to maintain visibility for highway users and to ensure
that road and footway widths are not reduced by overgrowing vegetation. In areas
where no footway exists there may be a need to provide a safe refuge on the
highway verge for pedestrians, particularly on busy roads.
Serviceability Amenity Cutting in Urban Areas

Grass cutting in urban areas, and on housing estates, is carried out by
District/Borough Councils for amenity purposes to a higher frequency than that
required for highway safety. In order to avoid duplication, the County Council
contributes towards the cost of cutting undertaken by the District/Borough Councils
under the terms of a Service Level Agreement (SLA). The area cut by
District/Borough Councils is scheduled and is subject to annual review as new roads
are adopted.
Sustainability
There is the potential for conflict of interests between grass cutting and conservation
issues, with wild plants being mown before they have flowered and seeded.
Although some low growing species thrive in the cut areas, elsewhere they would be
smothered by more dominant varieties.
The County Council works with Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) to manage about 100
Roadside Nature Reserves. Each site is promoted for its special ecological content.
The sites are marked by posts to ensure cutting does not take place at inappropriate
times. However, at least one cut is essential to keep the more dominant species at
bay and this is usually in September to October, with a possible springtime cut.
Within Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) or Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI) the Council is now entering into Assent Management schemes with
English Nature.
Standards
Single swathe widths (1.2 metres) are cut along most rural verges, increasing in
width to incorporate visibility splays at junctions, bends and in front of signs. Often
verges are wider than 1.2 metres and the vegetation beyond this point will remain
largely untouched at these locations, so allowing nature to run its course.
The following table details numbers of cuts per year assuming average growth rates.
Limited additional cutting may be required at times of exceptional growth when road
safety may otherwise be jeopardised.
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October 2008
Location
Standard of grass cutting
Urban areas
Full highway verge width A minimum of 3

cuts per year
Rural verges
A and B roads: 2 cuts per year of first

1.2 metre swathe and visibility splays at
junction, bends and signs.
Minor roads (C and U): 1 cut per year of
first 1.2 metre swathe and visibility splays
at junction, bends and signs.
Additional localised cutting may be
undertaken where required for safety
reasons see notes below.
Roadside Nature reserves
Single cut generally in the autumn in

accordance with the requirements of
Suffolk Wildlife Trust, but a Spring cut may
be necessary as advised, for certain
species.
Area Managers and Agents may use local discretion for further cutting where:
(i)
Grass overhanging a footway causes people to walk in the road.
(ii)
It would encourage journeys to school by walking or cycling.
(iii)
Access to village centres by means other than car would be difficult or

dangerous.
(iv)
There are potential safety hazards caused by long grass at, e.g. junctions.
(v)
Cuttings/embankments require safety or amenity trimming.
Visibility of signs should be maintained as far as possible by additional grass cutting

or very localised hedge cutting, note; hedge cutting should be undertaken after end
of July in order to avoid disturbance to nesting birds in all but urgent safety problems.
WEED CONTROL
Safety
Weed growth can impair safety for highway users by reducing available road and
footway widths. The Weeds Act 1959 lists a number of weeds which can be injurious
to human or animal health. It places a duty on controllers of land to eliminate the
following scheduled weeds from their land to prevent seeds contaminating their
neighbours' land :Spear thistle
Creeping or field thistle
17
Cirsium vulgare
Cirsium arvense
October 2008
Curled dock
Broad leaf dock
Common ragwort
Rumex crispus
Rumex obtusifolius
Senecio jacobaea
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 specifies control of certain plants such as
giant hogweed or Japanese knotweed. Giant hogweed can cause problems in the
form of blistering to the skin.
Serviceability
Weeds can cause structural damage to the highway, disrupt drainage, obstruct
pedestrians and appear unsightly. Damage can be particularly prevalent on
footways, which tend to be of thinner construction. Such weeds as Mares Tail and
Bell-bind can be particularly destructive.
Sustainability
The following legislation controls the use of herbicides:
Food and Environment Protection Act 1985
Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations
1988
The use of certain residual (soil acting) herbicides was prohibited by MAFF some
years ago and, in response to growing concerns about the build up of residual
herbicides in watercourses, the Environment and Transport Directorate took the
decision to use only systemic (foliar acting) herbicides for its programmes of routine
control of weed growth. However this move to a wholly systemic treatment
programme does mean that two or three applications of herbicide are required each
year to control weed growth.
18
October 2008
Standards
Location
Frequency
Footways and immediately adjacent

kerbed channels
Generally 2 times per year; carried out in

the Spring and Late Summer using a
systemic weed killer but with an additional
mid season treatment when growth
conditions require.
Noxious Weeds
Where a problem is identified then a one

off treatment, or series of treatments, will
be arranged (see notes below).
Treatment of Noxious weeds:

Ragwort
Ragwort can be fatal to livestock, causing liver failure if eaten, even when the plant is
dead. The potential risk to livestock, especially horses, has prompted the
Government to introduce legislation with the specific purpose of controlling the
spread of Common Ragwort. This legislation places duties upon the
owners/occupiers of land in this respect. As the Highway Authority, Suffolk County
Council is responsible for the control of ragwort beside all public roads in the county,
with the exception of Trunk Roads.
DEFRA published the Code of Practice on How to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort in
July, 2004. The Ragwort Control Act, 2003 gives this Code evidential status in any
proceedings taken under the Weeds Act, 1959. Failure to follow the Code is not an
offence, but non-compliance may be used as evidence in any legal action. Similarly,
if a controller of land can demonstrate that they have complied with the Code, they
should be able to establish a defence in any action.
The authority will:
1. Record highway land upon which ragwort has been reported. Where ragwort has
been identified:
2. Assess the risk of spread to land used for grazing or forage production, where the
categories of risk are:
High Risk Ragwort is present and flowering/seeding within 50m of land
used for grazing by horses and other animals or land used for forage
production.
Medium Risk - Ragwort is present within 50m to 100m of land used for
grazing by horses and other animals or land used for forage production.
Low Risk Ragwort or the land upon which it is present is more than 100m
from land used for grazing by horses and other animals or land used for
forage production.
19
October 2008
The distances given here are for guidance only; local circumstances should
be considered, for instance the degree of infestation.
3. Where high risk sites are identified, take immediate action to control the spread of
ragwort using appropriate control methods.
4. Monitor medium risk sites.
5. No immediate action is required at low risk sites.
The Code promotes an approach whereby occupiers of land balance the risk posed
by ragwort against the cost of taking action. There is recognition that regular
inspections of all land holdings may be impractical. Based upon an assessment of
the risk versus the associated cost, the authority does not carry out annual
inspections specifically to identify sites of infestation. However, technical staff at the
area and agents offices are trained to recognise the weed and will record any sites
of infestation detected during safety inspections and other inspections of highway
land. These sites will be categorised as high, medium or low risk.
Other sites of infestation will come to the authoritys attention via public complaints
and these sites will be investigated and categorised according to the risk that they
present.
Any high risk sites identified will be cleared, subject to the necessary co-operation of
any adjacent land owners. If adjacent land owners fail to carry out similar action on
their land, then recolonisation of the highway land is likely to take place, thus
rendering the action taken by the authority ineffective.
The usual method of clearance is hand pulling, followed by bagging and disposal at
licensed landfill sites.
Medium risk sites will be monitored to ensure that a change from medium to high risk
can be anticipated.
Giant Hogweed
Giant Hogweed is present in isolated locations in the County. The plant looks similar
to a very large cow parsley growing to 12 feet high. Barbs under the leaves and on
the stem contain a poisonous sap which can photo sensitise the skin causing
blistering requiring hospitalisation. Plants can be chemically weed killed early in the
season but later must be cut bagged and disposed of at a licensed landfill site.
Removal is a job for a specialist weed control contractor.
SKIRTING
Safety
Edge maintenance or skirting of carriageways, footways and cycleways is
occasionally necessary to prevent encroachment of grass reducing available width.
Standards
20
October 2008
Skirting of carriageways will normally only be undertaken in preparation for surface

dressing or other maintenance treatment.
Footway skirting is undertaken where essential for pedestrian safety e.g. where
pedestrians may be forced to walk in the carriageway and in preparation for
maintenance treatments such as slurry sealing and surface dressing, where
necessary.
TREES AND HEDGES

Safety
Trees and hedges growing on or alongside the highway can become a serious
hazard to highway users if they become unstable or decay or if they encroach onto
footways, carriageways or visibility splays. They can also produce hazardous root
damage to footways and adjoining property.
Serviceability
Trees and hedges are an important amenity. Significant pruning or felling, even for
safety reasons, can be the subject of strong local concern. In urban areas if left
unchecked trees may outgrow their location giving rise to structural damage to roads,
footways or drainage systems or to adjacent property and hedges may restrict widths
of footways or carriageways. Requirements for maintenance can be greatly reduced
by careful selection of trees when planning planting or replacement programmes
Sustainability
Routine maintenance under expert guidance provides a valuable amenity for the
public and wildlife. With the exception of urgent safety work, work to trees and
hedges should be undertaken outside the bird nesting season.
Standards
Almost all hedges are owned by the adjacent property owner. Where a problem is
identified the property owner will be contacted and asked to cut back branches which
are overgrowing the highway. If the owner fails to undertake this work within a
reasonable period (usually 21 days) then the Council may, by serving notice in
accordance with the provisions of Section 154 of the Highways Act, require the
owner to undertake the work. If this work is not completed within 14 days then the
Council may undertake the work themselves and seek to recover any costs from the
property owner concerned. In rural areas work to highway trees will be mainly
reactive, in response to safety concerns. In urban areas proactive management is
encouraged.
Maintenance will be required from time to time to mitigate the adverse effects of trees
or to maintain the condition of a tree. A qualified arboriculturalist may be used to
inspect trees of specific concern. Work is only undertaken after informing/consulting
with local councils and adjacent property owners, unless it is very urgent. Work to
trees in Conservation Areas and trees subject to Tree Preservation Orders will
require the authorisation of the relevant District or Borough Council.
21
October 2008
Where a tree owned by an adjacent property is considered to present a risk to the

safety of the highway user or encroaches onto the highway, the relevant manager will
contact the owner of the land and require him to undertake work at his expense to
mitigate the effect.
DRAINAGE SYSTEMS
Safety
Accumulations of water on carriageways, footways and cycleways can increase risks
to the safety of highway users, or frontagers, particularly on high speed roads and
when standing water exists in freezing conditions.
Displaced covers and frames can be a hazard to pedestrians and a potential hazard
to drivers and cyclists.
Damaged covers may collapse leaving a void in the highway.
Serviceability
Accumulations of water can lead to weakening of road pavement foundations and
damage to adjacent properties due to spray thrown up by passing vehicles. In
extreme cases ineffective or non-existent drainage systems can lead to flooding of
adjacent properties.
Sustainability
Inadequate drainage will reduce the effective life of road pavements and may cause
nuisance to adjoining land owners.
Pollution of roadside watercourses can occur due to contaminated run off from
carriageways.
Gully arisings may contain pollutants and should be disposed of at licensed landfill
sites.
Standards
Cleansing is undertaken to remove the build up of detritus that occurs in gully sumps
and other drainage channels.
22
October 2008
Drainage Feature
Inspection and Cleansing Standard
Gullies
Highway gullies cleansed at 9 monthly intervals. However

gullies prone to regular silting or blocking by leaves and at
high risk locations cleansed at more frequent intervals, by
local prioritisation
Piped connections to sewer/ditch checked by flushing at
time of cleansing.
Kerb offlets
Cleansed annually or with gullies detritus cleaned from

mouth of offlet, and adjacent carriageway and piped
connection checked by flushing.
Roadside grips
Cleansed annually by mechanical auger or hand, to ditch

where possible, otherwise to soak away in verge.
Piped drainage systems

and culverts under roads.
Inspected and cleaned out when blockages are identified

or reports of flooding are received.
Catchpits and soakaways
Inspected and cleaned out when blockages are identified

or reports of flooding are received.
Some catchpits and soakaways prone to regular silting
scheduled for annual inspection and clean.
As per manufacturer's recommendations.
Oil Interceptors
Highway Authority ditches
Cleared of vegetation and dug out when blockages are

identified or reports of flooding are received.
Other Ditches
Owner requested to undertake clearance when blockages

are identified or reports of flooding are received.
Covers and Gratings
Covers and Gratings inspected as part of safety inspection

and during scheduled cleaning. Missing or damaged
covers replaced.
Linear drainage
systems/kerbs/ACO/path
channels.
Inspected and cleansed when blockages identified.
SWEEPING
Safety
A build up of detritus on the surface of the carriageway can:(a)
lead to localised loss of skidding resistance increasing risk of accident,

and
23
October 2008
(b)
lead to blockage of drainage paths and drainage systems increasing the risks
of localised flooding.
(c)
be unsightly
Serviceability
Under the terms of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 street cleansing, including
sweeping, is the responsibility of the District/Borough Councils. The Act requires
District/Borough Councils to meet specified response times for the removal of litter
from the highway. Detritus falls within the description of litter. The District/Borough
Councils meet their obligations under the Act by carrying out routine sweeping of the
highway at intervals determined by the nature of the road or footway. Most rural
roads are not routinely swept and here District/Borough Councils adopt a regime
which responds to individual requests for cleansing.
Standards
Where a build-up of material presents a danger to users of the highway and its
removal cannot wait until the District/Borough Council reacts or carries out their next
routine cleanse, then emergency clearance may be warranted and the Highway
Authority will be responsible for arranging this. The response time will be dependent
upon the nature of the detritus, and the risk it presents to highway users.
Collection of detritus that can be reasonably dealt with by a sweeping or cleansing
regime should be left to the respective cleansing authority to deal with.
TRAFFIC SIGNS AND BOLLARDS

Safety
Regulatory and warning signs contribute to road safety by assisting highway users to
identify safety risks, and separating potential traffic conflicts.
Clear direction signing can contribute to safety by reducing driver confusion and
keeping traffic to appropriate routes.
Serviceability
Direction signs contribute to the ease of use of the road network
Sustainability
Signing can contribute to the local economy (tourist signing, signing for events) and
avoid users getting lost and travelling unnecessary distances.
Signing can support sustainable transport modes (cycle and bus routes).
Routeing of heavy traffic can reduce the need for repairs on minor roads.
24
October 2008
However signing can be intrusive, especially signs in poor repair situated in

environmentally sensitive areas, and confusing if too much signing is present.
Standards
The primary objective is to keep signs visible and legible at distances which will allow
them to be read by highway users, as they pass at speeds appropriate to the type of
road.
Traffic Signs Feature
Maintenance Standard
Signs are inspected as part of safety
inspections and in response to reports
from the public.
For sign cleaning, priority will be given to
illegible signs, on the basis of road
hierarchy.
Signs
Repairs will be undertaken to keep signs

legible, and to repair signs that have been
damaged and have become unsafe.
Priority will be given to mandatory and
important warning signs on higher
category, higher speed roads.
ROAD MARKINGS AND ROAD STUDS

Safety
Road markings and studs assist in delineation especially in darkness and poor
visibility.
Loose road studs can present a hazard to road users.
Enforcement of safe, designated parking/loading areas.
Serviceability
Ease of use of the highway in darkness and poor visibility.
Sustainability
Support to sustainable transport - delineation of bus and cycle lanes, traffic calming
schemes.
Edge markings can reduce damage to carriageway edges.
25
October 2008
Standards
Road markings
Road markings will be maintained in accordance with the table below on a rolling
programme on a zonal basis. Mandatory lines or other road markings associated
with safety schemes that are identified during routine safety inspections as requiring
maintenance between zone renewals will be added to the programme as an
additional instruction.
Road studs
Priority will be given to studs which give effect to regulations, double white systems
and systems of road studs on principal roads.
26
October 2008
Standards Road Markings and Studs

Feature
Road markings on principal roads
All road markings will be maintained . *
Road markings on non principal roads
The following road markings will be

maintained:
Stop and give way markings.
Markings associated with traffic orders.
Double line systems.
Warning Markings.
Slow Markings.
Markings associated with speed
management or accident prevention
schemes.
Other markings will only be renewed, if still
required, following obliteration by surfacing
or surface dressing work, or other
identified need.
Road markings in conservation areas.
Lines are to be narrow and primrose

where required.
Road studs on principal roads
All road studs to be maintained.

An annual conspicuity inspection will be
carried out each spring, for summer
replacement.
Road studs on non principal roads
Road studs associated with double line

systems and other mandatory markings
(e.g. hatching edged by solid lines) will be
maintained.
Any loose road studs will be made safe.
Other road studs will only be maintained
following carriageway surface treatment
and in response to specific hazards.
* Further guidance on the maintenance of road markings is contained in

Highway Advice Note 3.3.
27
October 2008
FENCES AND BARRIERS

Safety
Safety fences and barriers provide separation for traffic and vulnerable road users
from each other and other hazards, e.g. watercourses.
Unstable fences walls and barriers adjacent to the highway can present risks to the
safety of highway users.
Serviceability
Breaches in boundary fences may lead to risk stock of escaping onto the highway.
Sustainability
Fences and barriers in poor repair may be detrimental to the appearance of
environmentally sensitive areas. Appropriate designs of barriers should be used in
such areas.
Standards
Feature
Damaged safety fences will be made safe
within 24 hours and permanently repaired
within 4 weeks.
A programme undertaking the full
inspection of safety fences every 3 years,
following which a programme of repairs
should be adopted.
Safety fences
Pedestrian Barriers
Damaged barriers will be made safe within

24 hours and permanently repaired within
4 weeks.
Other fences
In most cases this fencing will be owned

by the adjacent property owner. We will
contact the owner of the fencing if possible
and ask them to make safe. If the owner
cannot be contacted, or will not make the
fencing safe, we will make safe within 24
hours.
Other fences that are the responsibility of
the Highway Authority will be made safe
within 24 hours if they present a danger to
the highway user. Permanent repairs will
be carried out at the discretion of the Area
Highways Manager.
28
October 2008
RISK MANAGEMENT
SAFETY INSPECTIONS
Introduction
Highway authorities are under a duty to maintain public highways by virtue of Section
41, of The Highways Act, 1980, to enable safe passage of highway users. There is
an acknowledgement that not all highways can be in perfect condition all of the time,
and in this circumstance a defence under Section 58, that reasonable care has been
taken to ensure that the highway is not dangerous, is relied on in the event of Third
Party Claims.
More recently the duty to grit introduced under The Railways and Transport Safety
Act, 2003, has placed more emphasis on the need to treat highways before the
formation of ice. This has implications for the Winter Service.
Standards
All carriageways, footways and cycle ways are inspected at regular intervals ranging
between monthly to 12 monthly periods depending on the category. These safety
inspections are undertaken to detect defects likely to present a danger or nuisance to
the travelling public, and to rectify them with an appropriate degree of urgency.
Most carriageway inspections are undertaken from a slow moving vehicle, whilst
footway inspections are undertaken by a mix of driven and walked inspections.
Unsurfaced roads (Green Lanes) are not routinely inspected but to reflect their local
use by limited vehicular traffic, equestrians and pedestrians we undertake inspection
and limited maintenance following reports from the public.
Budgets for the maintenance of such low use routes are limited and a system of
prioritising available budgets to the most used Green lanes will be employed.
Carriageway Safety Inspection Frequency

Inspection Frequency
Tolerance for completion

in relation to due date
2 Strategic Routes
1 month
5 working days
3a Main Distributors
1 month
5 working days
3b Secondary Distributors
3 months
10 working days
4a Local Roads
6 months
10 working days
4b Local Access Roads
6 months
10 working days
Road Category
5 Unsurfaced Unclassified
Roads
Inspection on complaint
only
To reflect staff commitments, on leave and during exceptional weather events, a

tolerance is built into the timing of inspection relative to the "due" date.
29
October 2008
Footway Safety Inspection Frequency

Inspection Frequency
Tolerance for completion

in relation to due date
1a Prestige Walking Zone
None in Suffolk
None in Suffolk
1 Primary Walking Route
1 month (on foot)
5 working days
2 Secondary Walking Route
6 months (on foot)
10 working days
3 Link Footway
12 months (on foot)
10 working days
4 Local Access Footway
12 months (by car)
10 working days
Footway Category
Carriageway Intervention Criteria

There is an understanding that highways will not be totally free of defects all of the
time. Not all defects create a danger or nuisance to the highway user. The
following tables detail the intervention levels of defects which will warrant remedial
measures within the timescales shown.
30
October 2008
Defect
Type
Intervention
Criteria
Cat. 2
road
Cat. 3a
road
Cat. 3b
road
Cat. 4a
road
Cat. 4b
road
Debris,
spillage,
etc.
A significant buildup or deposition of

material likely to
present a hazard to
road users.
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
Debris,
spillage,
etc.
A significant buildup or deposition of

material likely to
present a hazard to
road users.
2 weeks
2 weeks
Abrupt level
difference
Change in surface
level in excess of :a) 50mm
b) 100mm
24 hrs
24 hrs
Abrupt level
difference
(1 metre or
more in
length)
Change in surface
level in excess of
50mm
2 weeks
2 weeks
Potholes
Sharp edged hole

or gap exceeding:
24 hrs
24 hrs
2 weeks
2 weeks
24 hrs
24 hrs
4 weeks
4 weeks
300x300x50mm
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
600x600x100mm
Potholes
Sharp edged hole

or gap exceeding:
600mm x 600mm x
50mm in depth
Ironwork
Any cover missing,

broken or
collapsed.
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
Drainage
Potentially
dangerous flooding
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
Drainage
Blocked drainage
or flooding on the
highway
2 weeks
2 weeks
2 weeks
31
October 2008
Defect
Type
Intervention
Criteria
Cat. 2
road
Cat. 3a
road
Cat. 3b
road
Cat. 4a
road
Cat. 4b
road
Street
furniture
Damaged or
defective street
furniture likely to
present a hazard
including exposed
wiring and
overhead
cables/wires
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
Road
signing
Fencing
and
barriers
Kerbing
Missing, dangerous
or misleading
24 hrs
mandatory sign,
bollard or traffic
signal.
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
Damage to :1) Safety Fence

2) Parapet fences
or guardrails
Liable to render
them ineffective.
Install a
warning/protection
system.
Undertake
permanent repairs
within.
Broken or
displaced kerb
protruding 25mm
or more, likely to
present a danger to
road users.
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
4 weeks
4 weeks
4 weeks
4 weeks
4 weeks
24 hrs
24 hrs
24 hrs
2 weeks
2 weeks
Regardless of the intervention criteria listed above, the application of higher

standards may be considered appropriate in sensitive locations such as schools,
shopping centres, hospitals and elderly accommodation.
32
October 2008
Footway Intervention Criteria

Defect
Type
Potholes,
cracks or
gaps
Intervention
Criteria
Cat. 1
footway
Cat. 2
footway
Cat. 3
footway
Cat. 4
footway
24 hrs
24 hrs
4 weeks
4 week
4 weeks
4 weeks
24 hrs
24 hrs
Hole, crack or gap,

20mm or more in
depth, and of minm
dimensions
150mm x 100mm
"
Trips
Any trip in excess of

20mm
24 hrs
24 hrs
"
Ironwork
Any cover missing,

broken or collapsed
24 hrs
24 hrs
Regardless of the intervention criteria listed above, the application of higher

standards may be considered appropriate in sensitive locations such as schools,
shopping centres, hospitals and elderly accommodation.
There is also a need to apply Footway Intervention Criteria to areas of carriageway
included within controlled pedestrian crossings.
Where it is not possible to make defects safe within 24 hours, signing or guarding
should be considered.
Cycleways
The inspection criteria to be applied to cycleways will depend upon the status and
position within the highway.
For mandatory cycleways within the carriageway i.e. where defined by a continuous
road marking, the relevant carriageway inspection frequency will apply, as will
category 4 footway intervention criteria.
For advisory cycleways within the carriageway i.e. where defined by an intermittent
road marking, the adjacent carriageway inspection frequency will apply, as will the
carriageway intervention criteria.
Shared cycleways and footways will attract the maintenance standards associated
with the footway. This is appropriate since footways tend to attract higher
maintenance standards than cycleways.
33
October 2008
Urban Rights of Way

Some footpaths within urban areas are recorded on the definitive map as public
rights of way. Within urban areas these may provide a functional route to shops,
schools etc. Some of these footpaths are metalled. Where footpaths are metalled
then they will be assigned an appropriate category within the footway hierarchy and
will be inspected and maintained accordingly.
Most unmetalled footpaths in urban areas remain part of the rights of way network
and are inspected and maintained in accordance with procedures set down in Suffolk
County Councils Rights of Way Code of Practice.
34
October 2008
PERFORMANCE MONITORING
Performance management is an essential component of the provision of an
economical, efficient and effective highways maintenance service. It is important to
gauge and monitor trends in performance.
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
To monitor the County Councils performance, a number of performance indicators
are collected. Some of these indicators are national indicators, as defined by Central
Government. In 2008 Central Government introduced a set of streamlined indicators.
A single set of 198 national indicators was introduced to replace all other existing
sets of indicators including Best Value Performance Indicators and Performance
Assessment Framework indicators These indicators are reported upon at the end of
each financial year.
Some of the road and pavement condition indicators are Core Indicators within the
LTP. The authority is required to publish targets and trajectories within our LTP for
these indicators. The targets are linked to both local and national objectives,
including the Governments Ten Year Plan for Transport.
Some of the National Indicators (NIs) associated with the highways maintenance
service directly contribute to the authoritys Comprehensive Performance
Assessment (CPA) rating. This is a key measure of the overall performance of local
authorities.
The Code of Good Practice encourages local authorities to develop sets of local
performance indicators in addition to those prescribed nationally. Such local
performance indicators facilitate the reflection of local priorities and provide key
management information. Suffolk County Council is developing a set of local
indicators, based upon guidance in the Code and consultation with other local
authorities in the Eastern Region.
Suffolks TAMP sets out a number of improvement actions and aspirations for the
transport service. The TAMP contains performance measures to help gauge the
authoritys progress towards achieving these improvements. For further explanation
of these performance measures, please see Appendix G of the TAMP.
The authority has engaged a construction partner to work alongside internal service
providers in delivering the highways maintenance and improvement service. The
contract with Suffolks construction partner contains a number of key performance
indicators that are used to help drive improvements in service delivery, network
condition and value for money.
For each of the indicators collected annual trends are monitored and interventions
made as appropriate. For some performance indicators it is possible to monitor
performance throughout the year and project the likely year-end value. Such
projection is carried out where appropriate and enables early action to be taken as
necessary.
35
October 2008
BENCHMARKING
Liaison with other authorities in the region is an important component of performance
monitoring. The County Council participates in the Eastern Region Best Practice
Group. This group enables our performance to be compared with nearby authorities
and may prompt proactive action if such comparison indicates that Suffolks
performance can be improved in any specific areas. As well as comparing
performance indicator information, such groups enable comparison of financial
performance and facilitate the adoption of regionally consistent policies, where
appropriate.
36
October 2008
WORKS BY STATUTORY UNDERTAKERS

Statutory Undertakers have a legal right to excavate in the highway to install,
maintain and remove their apparatus. The conduct of this is regulated by the New
Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) and associated Regulations and Codes
of Practice.
Section 50 of the Act also permits private builders to install, maintain or remove
private apparatus such as sewers and drains in the highway under licence. The
builder or person granted a Street Works licence becomes an Undertaker for the
purposes of the NRSWA and therefore attracts the relevant duties and
responsibilities imposed by the Act and associated secondary legislation and Codes
of Practice.
Reinstatement of the highway is the responsibility of the Statutory Undertaker. The
role of the County Council is to monitor their performance, but not to supervise the
whole works.
The legal duty for the provision of a safe highway still resides with the Highway
Authority, notwithstanding any other duties imposed upon statutory undertakers.
The Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA), that is expected to be implemented during
2007 at the time of writing, will impact upon how the County co-ordinates works. As a
result, the County Council has appointed a Traffic Manager whose role is to oversee
the co-ordination of all works within the highway to minimise inconvenience to road
users. To facilitate co-ordination and inspection, works are and will be notified in
advance to the County Council under a formal notice system. The amount of notice
required will vary dependent on type of work and location. The County Council has
powers to designate certain streets to restrict working hours or to require special
procedures or materials to be used, for instance in conservation areas.
A system is administered from Area and Agent offices, each have dedicated
inspectors, supported by administrative staff and the Insight computer system.
Sample inspection, for which a fee is recoverable from the relevant undertaker,
ensures work complies with national standards. Target levels of inspections are set
as internal targets to help ensure that inspections are representative and fee income
is maximised.
The performance of each undertaker and their contractors is monitored and
recorded. Section 74 of NRSWA imposes financial penalties on undertakers who fail
to comply with the requirements of the NRSWA.
Signing and guarding of works should comply with the Safety at Roadworks Code
of Practice. Utilities are required to implement the Code of Practice of the
Reinstatement of Openings. There are other codes of practice covering co-ordination
and inspections.
37
October 2008
The performance standards which apply to the execution of the works themselves
are set down in Regulations and Codes of Practice. These are normally determined
nationally and the County Council cannot impose more onerous standards or grant
relaxations.
Performance issues can be raised with individual undertakers and at the Suffolk
Highways Authorities and Utilities Committee (Suffolk HAUC)
In cases of persistent or extreme failure by a Statutory Undertaker to comply with
legislation, the County Council has powers to prosecute.
38
October 2008
WINTER SERVICE
Winter service covers three basic categories: pre treatment, post treatment and snow
clearance. The winter service operational plan contains the detailed arrangements
for this service and links to the County Councils Emergency Plan.
Roads are treated on a priority basis referenced P1, P2 and P3, with busier roads
treated first.
Footways will not generally receive any pre treatment but post treatment will be
carried out in severe conditions as resource allows, on a similar hierarchical basis.
A strategic network of cycle routes has been devised for the main urban areas of the
County and these will receive pre treatment under the same regime as P2s
In severe weather conditions (snow or ice) P1s and then P2s will take priority for
treatments and only when this part of the network is reasonably clear will resource be
diverted to deal with other problems. A network of farmers and other contractors
across the County can be called on in the case of heavy snow falls to help deal with
specific areas.
In the severest of conditions it is likely that a central control would be set up to
continuously monitor the situation and the need for additional resource.
Public information about the service and the status of salting arrangements is
available on the County Councils web site.
39
October 2008
ROAD LIGHTING
Detailed coverage of the road lighting service is beyond the scope of this Plan.
The lighting service provided in the county is based upon the philosophy and
standards as contained in the Road Lighting Maintenance Code of Good Practice.
This document was jointly developed by the CSS and the Institution of Lighting
Engineers. The lighting Code of Good Practice covers such areas as fault reporting,
cyclic maintenance, lamp replacement, structural and electrical inspections and
testing, inventory and purchasing.
In Suffolk, a performance based contract is used to implement the Code, with some
local variations.
The County Council has a duty to keep highway lighting safe. Some lights within
Suffolk are owned by Parish Councils. Some Parish Councils elect for their lights to
be maintained by Suffolk County Council, for a fee. Similar arrangements operate
with some District Councils.
40
October 2008

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HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE OPERATIONAL

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

THE HIGHWAY NETWORK

STANDARDS AND POLICIES

Maintenance Instructions and Highway Advice Notes

Suffolk Guide to the Signing of Roadworks

The Suffolk Manual

Traffic Management On Suffolk's Roads

The Suffolk Design Guide

The Environmental Management System (EMS)

Winter Service Plan

United Kingdom Pavement Management System (UKPMS)

ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY MAINTENANCE

Trees and Hedges

Traffic Signs and Bollards

Road Markings and Road Studs

Fences and Barriers

WORKS BY STATUTORY UNDERTAKERS

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

THE HIGHWAY NETWORK

Type of Road General

Limited access motorway

Routes for fast moving long distance traffic.

Trunk and some Principal

Routes for fast moving long distance traffic

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

Type of Road General

Major Urban Network and

Routes between Strategic Routes and

Classified Road (B and C

In rural areas these roads link the larger

Roads linking between

In rural areas these roads link the smaller

Roads serving limited

In rural areas these roads serve small

The hierarchy as implemented in Suffolk is based upon this guidance. In considering

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

opening of a new bypass) will be reflected in the hierarchy immediately.

Prestige Walking Zones

Very busy towns and cities with high public space

Primary Walking Routes

Busy urban shopping and business areas, and

Secondary Walking Routes

Medium usage routes through local areas feeding

Linking local access footways through urban areas

Local Access Footways

Footways associated with low usage, short estate

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

The Code recognises that the assignment of a footway to a particular category is a

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

STANDARDS AND POLICIES

TRANSPORT ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN (TAMP)

MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS and HIGHWAY ADVICE NOTES

SUFFOLK GUIDE TO THE SIGNING OF ROADWORKS

THE SUFFOLK MANUAL

THE CONSERVATION MANUAL

THE COUNTRYSIDE MANUAL

Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

THE MATERIALS MANUAL