Highway Repairs

The Council inspects and repairs approximately 980km of road and 1600km of footway.

What the Council will Repair

The Council has a limited amount of money to spend on road and footpath maintenance.  Whilst we would like to resurface a road or pavement, it may have to be included on a waiting list because of limited resources.  The limits set also mean that we have to give priority to repairing the more serious problems, rather than areas which are just unsightly. 

We look at every potential repair and balance the money available with the urgency of the problem.  We give priority to repairs on major and feeder routes throughout the borough as they impact the most amount of people.

There are two ways in which this is decided:-

Minor Repairs

Our highway officers regularly inspect the roads and footpaths.  This means we can identify defects and arrange a planned repair through our area response teams. Where members of the public tell us about defects that meet our criteria, they will also be repaired.

Major Refurbishment Schemes

All routes are surveyed to assess overall condition. Each route is allocated a condition rating which assists the preparation of our major repair programme. Treatments include surface dressing, slurry seal overlay and resurfacing.

There are guidelines in place that determine when a defect is in need of repair.  These guidelines are based on the depth and severity of the defect such as a pothole in the road or a trip hazard on a footway.  If the sharp edge is greater than 25mm on a footway or 40mm on a carriageway then it will be repaired within the timescales outlined in the following table.

Repair Response Times:

Where possible a permanent repair will be carried out, however it may be necessary to arrange a temporary repair in the interim.

If the area in question is less than 40mm in the carriageway or less than 25mm on the footway, the defect will not be repaired. However we will continue to inspect the site as part of our regular safety inspections or it may be included as part of our major repair programme.

Utility companies such as the gas and water suppliers are allowed to use the road to install services.  Sometimes stop tap boxes or manhole covers become broken and need to be repaired.  These are the responsibility of the utility companies. Where a utility company digs up the road or footway, they are also responsible for repairing it properly afterwards.

Reporting a Highway Defect

The area repair teams will attend to all defects that meet the criteria set out above following the routine safety inspections.  If you notice a defect that you feel requires more urgent attention, such as:-

• Road or footway collapse
• Obstruction of the highway
• Highway flooding
• Missing gully covers
• Damaged safety fencing / barriers

You can report a defect using our online form or by telephone 0161 217 6111.