Road Asset Management Plan

Transport Scotland’s Road Asset Management Plan keeps road users informed about the Agency’s management and responsibilities on Scotland’s trunk roads.

The first Road Asset Management Plan (RAMP) was published in November 2007. Since then it has formed an integral part of our continuing Asset Management Improvement Programme.

Looking after Scotland’s Trunk Roads

Scotland ’s trunk road network has a gross asset value of £18 billion. It is used daily by thousands of people every day. It is essential that our roads are well maintained, not only for reasons of safety but also to provide the key links between our towns and cities.

The management and maintenance of the trunk road asset is our responsibility, on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. We have contracts in place with Operating Companies who ensure our trunk roads are safe, efficient and well managed.

For road users the most visible aspect of asset management is roadworks. Roadworks are necessary. They allow our Operating Companies to carry out routine maintenance and repairs to the roads. Whilst repairs are essential from time to time, we appreciate that roadworks can themselves create delays in the short-term.

Our Asset Management Improvement Programme

To balance the long-term need to keep our roads well maintained with the short-term need for roadworks, we introduced an Asset Management Improvement Programme. 

Integral to the improvement programme is our drive for continual improvement in all aspects of our management practices for the trunk road network, including:

• systematically reviewing and updating our asset management practices based on feedback from road users, our staff and our suppliers
• benchmarking against similar infrastructure organisations to identify where our current practices can be improved
• developing our knowledge of new materials and maintenance techniques that may be suitable for use on the trunk road network
• critically reviewing the information we hold about our trunk roads, as well as identifying new information we should collect and information that is no longer required.

The improvement plan places Transport Scotland at the forefront of UK and international practice in road management.

Road Asset Management Plan (RAMP)

Central to the Asset Management Improvement Programme is our Road Asset Management Plan (RAMP).

First published in 2007, the plan sets out how Transport Scotland manages Scotland’s trunk roads and the services we deliver for road users. The plan is complementary to the agency’s Strategic Road Safety Plan and the Traffic Scotland Improvement Strategy .

A more detailed RAMP document will be published in 2011 and will take on board the outcomes of the initial improvement programme. It will also include the feedback from a recent survey of road users and other interested parties. Participants were asked on the level of service they expect from the trunk road network on matters such as road condition, winter maintenance, journey reliability or lighting provision.

The surveys will be regularly repeated and the plan continually updated. The revisions will help to keep the plan dynamic and highlight the benefits realised through the improvement programme.