National Roads Maintenance Review

A review is underway to consider improvements to the management and maintenance of all Scotland’s roads.

The review covers all of Scotland’s road asset. This includes the pavement and adjoining footpaths, structures, verges, signing and lighting.  The analysis will consider potential impacts on all road users.

Phase 2 of the National Roads Maintenance Review is complete and a report was published in November 2011, setting  out 30 options which make the best use of resources.  The aim of the options is to deliver efficiently managed roads for all working within available budgets. The report identifies opportunities for innovation, collaborative working and sharing of services. 

The review has explored:

• How Government can work better with local authorities; and 
• Lessons to learn from international road management practice.

Stakeholders are delivering the report’s next steps and will do so until the review’s conclusion:

Options progress chart (pdf, 54KB)

The review is expected to conclude in spring 2012. The report was presented to Elected Members and Council officials at a Roads Summit in COSLA offices on 2 November 2011. A summary paper from the Summit is available.

Working Groups are addressing four key areas to help shape how Scotland’s road network is maintained in the future:

Productivity and technology innovation
Resourcing
Standards and prioritisation
Wider economic issues, impacts, costs and benefits

More information about the scopes of these groups is available from Working Group scopes.

The review is a partnership among: Transport Scotland; the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS); the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE); the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Road Works Commissioner.

The Phase 1 Report  was published in September 2011.

A stakeholder event was held on 23 June 2011 and the briefing paper from the event is available.

The Minister for Housing and Transport, Keith Brown MSP initiated the review in February 2011, see news release. This followed the Audit Scotland’s Report "Maintaining Scotland’s Roads", see accompanying news release.