Highways Asset Management
Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) Survey 2020
Each year, the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) commissions an independent survey of local authority highway departments in England and Wales in order to take a snapshot of the general condition of the local road network. The survey and data collation for the 2019/20 financial year was carried out between December 2019 and February 2020. 67% of authorities responsible for local roads responded, including Bradford.
This year’s ALARM report highlights that highway maintenance budgets have dropped by an average of 16% across England and Wales – back to a level they were at 15 years ago – and the amount of money needed to bring the network up to a reasonable steady state has increased by around 14% to £11.14 billion, from the £9.79 billion reported last year. The survey revealed that in England it would take, on average, a period of 12 years for highway authorities to reach this state if adequate funding and resources were in place. Bradford currently has a road maintenance backlog, or one-time ‘catch-up’ cost, of £79.3m, compared to the average in England of £85.4m.
Results of the 2020 ALARM survey are detailed in the attached document.