Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimates his Department has made of when (a) temporary speed limit and lane closures in the vicinity of junction 37 of the M62 will be removed and (b) roadworks on the bridge over the River Ouse will be completed; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The 30mph speed limit over the bridge is in place due to the reduced lane widths required to accommodate the two lanes in either direction, together with the barrier to segregate the traffic. The limit is in place to ensure the safety of traffic crossing the bridge and the safety of the workforce.
Replacement of the joints on the bridge is anticipated to complete in winter 2023, following which the speed limit and traffic management will be removed.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of maintenance by highway authorities of (a) drainage gullies and (b) other (i) channels, (ii) culverts and (iii) drains to facilitate water drainage from road carriageways; whether there are any (A) incentives for and (B) requirements on such authorities to ensure adequate maintenance; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
In respect of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), National Highways specifies the requirements for drainage design and maintenance in its Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB). This suggests that those responsible for the network should:
o remove surface water from the carriageway as quickly as possible to provide safety and minimum nuisance to the road users;
o maximise longevity of the pavement and its associated earthworks;
o minimise the impact of the runoff on the receiving environment in terms of flood risk and water quality; and,
o manage water flows from earthworks and structures associated with the roads.
On the strategic road network, drainage work is carried out via planned renewal and improvement work funded by the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS), with performance monitored and reported to the Office for Rail and Road.
On other roads, drainage gullies are the responsibility of the respective local highway authority. Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, to maintain the local highway network. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the A1M motorway northbound carriageway to be resurfaced; and what plans he has to remove potholes between junctions 1 and 2 of that motorway.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There is a programme of resurfacing on the A1(M) as follows:
A1(M) J1 – J6
A1(M) J1-J2 – Minor repairs were completed mid-April, with further enhanced inspections beginning week commencing 24 April 2023. Larger scale resurfacing will be undertaken dependent on inspection outcome.
A1(M) J14-J17
NH have plans to undertake some resurfacing of the A1M northbound between J15 to J16 lane 1. Works are expected to be completed around August/September 2023
A1(M) J8 – J10
National Highways has plans to carry out minor surface repairs before the end of April. No plans for larger-scale resurfacing until the next roads investment period, 2025-2030.
A1(M) J52 – J53
Reprofiling Scheme starting 05/06/2023
A1(M) J60 – J61
Climbing Lanes patching scheme work starting 18/09/2023
A1(M) J61 – J62
Hard Shoulder patching scheme work starting 30/10/2023
This carriageway is inspected on a weekly basis and 10 potholes were repaired overnight on 18 and 19 April 2023 at J1 – J2. National Highways will be conducting enhanced inspections during the week commencing 24 April 2023.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will introduce a Pot Hole Fund similar to the 2015 scheme where all funding was ring-fenced for (a) repairing and (b) prevention of potholes; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Pothole Action Fund that ran from 2016/17 to 2020/21 was allocated to eligible local highway authorities through the Section 31 grant process. Funding provided in this way is not ringfenced as set out in the Local Government Act 2003, but grant funding letters come with grant agreements which include conditions of spend that local authorities must adhere to.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the A1M was last inspected for potholes and surface defects between junctions 8 and 10; and when that stretch of motorway is next scheduled for surface maintenance.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Safety inspections of the A1(M) between junctions 8 and 10 are carried out by National Highways on a weekly basis. Its last inspection was carried out on 21 March 2023 with the next due to take place on 28 March 2023.
National Highways plan to conduct minor surface repairs along this section of the A1(M) before the end of April.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing future funding to local authorities for the (a) repair of potholes and (b) resurfacing of public highways; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Transport (DfT) allocates capital funding through the section 31 grant process so that local highways authorities can most effectively spend this funding on maintaining and improving their respective networks, based upon their local knowledge, circumstances, and priorities.
Section 31 grant funding is not ringfenced as set out in the Local Government Act 2003; it is up to the highway authority how to spend this funding to fulfil its statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Local decision makers are democratically accountable for the decisions they take.
DfT strongly encourages authorities to spend their allocations on highways maintenance activities and advocates a risk-based whole lifecycle asset management approach to local authority highways maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as gulleys, bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns – and not just the fixing of potholes.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to support and encourage the installation of more audio-visual real time information on busses and trains for visually-impaired and hard of hearing passengers in East Yorkshire.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
We have required buses funded through the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme to provide audible and visible information as standard.
We also plan to require the provision of audible and visible information on local bus and coach services across Great Britain, and intend to introduce the Accessible Information Regulations shortly.
We have also allocated £3.55m to the Real Time Information Group, who will be supporting small operators with the upfront costs of the planned Regulations.
As of 1 January 2022, all passenger rolling stock are compliant with accessibility standards, including requirements for dynamic audible and visible information.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of (a) potholes and (b) instances of other road damage; what estimate he has made of the additional resources that would be required to fix them; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. It is for each local authority to decide how best to do this and it is for local decision makers to determine how to prioritise local spending.
At the recent Autumn Statement, the Chancellor confirmed the three-year settlement announced at Spending Review 2021; approximately £915 million capital funding per year for local highways maintenance.
This funding is for eligible English local authorities outside of London and the mayoral combined authorities in receipt of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS).
Well-planned maintenance to prevent potholes and other defects from forming in the first place is vital, and the Department for Transport advocates a risk-based, whole life-cycle asset management approach to all aspects of the local highway network. The Department also encourages good practice in highway maintenance for all local highway authorities and endorses the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice; ‘Well Managed Highway Infrastructure’.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the southbound carriage of the A1M near junction 5 to be resurfaced and the potholes and current rough road surface to be addressed.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
National Highways’ inspectors carry out weekly safety inspections of the A1(M). Recent weekly inspections identified two safety critical defects in the area on 19 December 2022 and 28 December 2022 and both have been made safe.
Currently a resurfacing scheme for lanes one and two of the southbound A1(M) between junctions 6-5 is planned for the financial year 2024/25.
Where safety critical defects, including potholes, are identified, they are made safe within 24 hours and a permanent repair is made within 28 days.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to Answer of 28 November to Question 94697, when the road surface is scheduled for resurfing.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
As advised in my previous reply of 28 November the resurfacing works on the A46 between Hykeham and Winthorpe are due to commence in August 2023 and will finish in January 2024.