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Highways Maintenance Services
Planned and reactive maintenance that prevents the costly failures eating your budget. Fixed programmes, rapid emergency response, full lifecycle management.
Comprehensive highways maintenance for councils, highway authorities, and transport agencies managing ageing networks
England and Wales face a £17 billion highways maintenance backlog.
One in six local road miles has less than five years of structural life remaining. Authorities are filling 1.9 million potholes annually whilst deterioration accelerates faster than budgets allow, and the public’s demanding safer roads.
Control your maintenance costs whilst keeping networks safe and serviceable
You need predictable maintenance programmes that keep roads operational, respond fast to safety issues, and deliver better value than constant reactive firefighting.
We deliver this across South West England, South Wales, and the Thames Valley. Planned maintenance contracts, emergency response capability, full compliance documentation.
What we can deliver for your site...
Why highways fail faster than budgets can fix them
The structural causes accelerating deterioration
There's a smarter way to manage your network...
Planned programmes that control costs and extend asset life. Prevention costs less than crisis management
Planned maintenance delivers 40-50% better value:
Surface dressing at £3-5/m² before damage spreads beats emergency resurfacing at £15-20/m² after roads have failed structurally.
Predictable annual costs, no budget surprises:
Fixed programmes you can budget for accurately. Emergency capability when you need it, but you're not funding your entire service through reactive call-outs.
Longer asset lifecycles from timely interventions:
Catch surface issues before water reaches the base layer and you're adding 5-10 years to road life for fraction of reconstruction costs.
Reduced public complaints and compensation claims:
Systematic inspection and repair programmes keeping roads safe, defensible maintenance records when claims do arrive.
Less disruption through consolidated works:
Three-year forward programmes allowing works scheduling that minimises total network disruption versus constant reactive patches.
Complete compliance documentation:
SCANNER surveys, inspection records, intervention histories, as-built records. Everything for audit trails and regulatory requirements.
Why councils and highway authorities choose Highways Plus
You’re managing shrinking budgets against growing backlogs. You need a partner who understands that maintenance isn’t about perfection – it’s about keeping networks safe and serviceable with the money you’ve actually got.
What sets us apart
We design programmes around your budget reality:
Tell us what you can spend and we’ll show you what interventions deliver maximum safety and asset life extension within that envelope.
NHSS accredited with full ISO compliance:
NHSS 12C, 12D accreditation for highway works. ISO 9001 quality management, ISO 14001 environmental, ISO 45001 safety. Standards that reduce your audit burden.
Emergency response when you need it:
24/7 call-out for safety-critical defects. Crews mobilised within two hours for Category 1 repairs, rapid-curing materials allowing traffic flow within 15-30 minutes.
Three-year forward planning capability:
One team for everything:
Resurfacing, drainage, markings, signs, winter maintenance, traffic management. You’re not coordinating six different contractors wondering if they’ll talk to each other.
Regional coverage with local knowledge:
South West England, South Wales, Thames Valley. We know your networks, your seasonal challenges, your local material suppliers and disposal routes.
A clear, structured process that keeps your network operational
Highway maintenance needs systematic planning, coordinated interventions, methodical record-keeping. Complete audit trails at every stage.
What you get...
Most authorities operate annual programmes within three-year forward plans, balancing planned preventative treatments with reactive capacity for emergencies.
Typical timelines: Planned resurfacing programmes delivered within 8-16 week windows matching weather and traffic conditions. Emergency repairs mobilised within two hours for Category 1 safety defects, completed same day.
Network assessment and programme design:
Desktop review of your asset management data, SCANNER surveys, inspection records, budget parameters. You get a prioritised three-year forward programme showing interventions, costs, predicted outcomes.
Annual programme agreement:
We agree the year's works package - resurfacing schedules, surface treatments, drainage works, markings. Fixed prices, clear specifications, delivery windows coordinated with your priorities.
Traffic management and stakeholder communication:
NRSWA permits obtained, Chapter 8-compliant traffic control designed, resident notifications issued. Works scheduled to minimise disruption whilst meeting programme deadlines.
Delivery and quality control:
Execution following approved methodologies with hold-points for inspections. Compaction testing, layer thickness verification, as-built records compiled. You get photo evidence and test results for every intervention.
Highways maintenance CASE STUDY
Rural highway network, Somerset
The Challenge:
- Council managing 400+ miles of rural and urban roads with £2.8 million annual maintenance budget facing 18-month emergency repair backlog.
- Deterioration accelerating - one in four road miles rated as requiring intervention within three years, but reactive pothole repairs consuming 60% of budget leaving no capacity for preventative programmes.
- Winter freeze-thaw cycles creating new potholes faster than emergency crews could respond. Public complaints increasing, councillor pressure mounting, compensation claims rising.
Our Solution:
- Conducted network analysis identifying roads where £4/m² surface dressing would prevent £18/m² reconstruction needs within 24 months. Prioritised 45 miles for immediate preventative treatment.
- Consolidated emergency repair protocols - deployed rapid-response crews with permanent repair specifications instead of temporary patches requiring repeat visits. Cut average response time from 14 days to 72 hours for Category 2 defects.
- Implemented three-year forward programme balancing immediate safety interventions (30% of budget) with preventative treatments (50%) and planned resurfacing (20%). Secured winter maintenance contract providing proactive gritting and post-winter rapid response.
The Outcome:
- Emergency pothole repairs reduced 35% in year two through preventative treatments catching deterioration early
- Public complaints dropped 42% as visible network condition improved and response times shortened
- Three-year programme delivered £340,000 additional surfacing through efficiency savings versus reactive-only approach
- Compensation claims reduced from 47 annually to 18 through better inspection records and faster defect response
Proven delivery across diverse sectors
Whether you’re managing urban networks, rural highways, or strategic routes, you need confidence your maintenance partner can deliver systematic programmes alongside responsive emergency capability.
Sectors that rely on us:
Local councils:
District and county authorities managing hundreds of miles of local roads. Planned programmes within tight budgets, emergency response for safety defects, complete compliance documentation for audit requirements.
Highway authorities:
Regional bodies responsible for strategic route networks. Large-scale resurfacing programmes, winter maintenance, drainage infrastructure, traffic management coordination.
Transport agencies:
Organisations managing transport infrastructure across multiple authority areas. Consistent service standards, professional traffic control, comprehensive reporting meeting governance requirements.
Utility companies:
Electricity, gas, water, telecoms operators requiring highway reinstatement following service installations. NRSWA-compliant permanent reinstatements, Chapter 8 traffic management, adoption-standard finishes.
Private estates and business parks:
Industrial parks, retail estates, business campuses maintaining private road networks. Planned maintenance programmes, emergency repairs, winter gritting, car park resurfacing.
Education and healthcare:
Universities, colleges, hospital trusts managing campus road infrastructure. Planned interventions minimising disruption, emergency repairs, accessible pedestrian routes meeting DDA requirements.
Your Highways maintenance questions, answered...
How much can we save switching from reactive to planned maintenance?
Evidence suggests 40-50% cost savings from planned preventative treatments versus reactive emergency repairs. Surface dressing at £3-5/m² before damage spreads delivers equivalent road life to resurfacing at £15-20/m² after structural failure. Exact savings depend on your current network condition and intervention timing.
What's included in your planned maintenance programmes?
Annual works packages designed around your budget and asset data. Typically includes prioritised resurfacing schedules, surface treatments, drainage maintenance, marking and signage renewals, winter gritting, emergency repair capability. Traffic management, testing, as-built documentation, warranty included. Excludes only structural works requiring specialist bridge engineers or major utility diversions.
How quickly can you respond to emergency safety defects?
Category 1 safety-critical defects: mobilisation within two hours, repair completed same day. Category 2 defects: attended within 24-72 hours depending on risk assessment. We use rapid-curing materials allowing traffic flow within 15-30 minutes for urgent repairs on busy routes.
Do you provide winter maintenance and gritting?
Yes. Proactive gritting services with route planning and salt stocks managed by us. Snow clearing, post-winter damage assessment, rapid pothole repairs addressing freeze-thaw damage. Fixed-price seasonal contracts or call-out arrangements depending on your requirements.
How do you integrate with our existing asset management systems?
We work with your SCANNER data, visual inspection records, GIS systems. Our interventions feed back into your asset registers with as-built records, treatment details, expected lifecycle data. Compatible with Confirm, Symology, Mayrise, Yotta, other common highway management platforms.
Can you handle Section 38 adoption maintenance?
Yes. We manage defects liability periods for roads offered for adoption, joint inspections with highway authorities, defect rectification, adoption documentation. Fixed-fee adoption management available for developers with schemes requiring sign-off.
What traffic management standards do you meet?
All works comply with Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual. SWQR-qualified operatives, compliant signage and guarding, pedestrian protection, vehicle conspicuity. NRSWA permits obtained for all street works, traffic management plans submitted for approval before mobilisation.
Do you provide drainage and SuDS installation?
Yes. Traditional highway drainage maintenance including gully clearing, carrier drain repairs, outfall maintenance. SuDS installation for new developments or retrofit projects – permeable surfaces, filter drips, detention basins, bioretention systems. Section 104 adoption coordination with water authorities.
What areas do you cover?
South West England, South Wales, and Thames Valley. We operate across Somerset, Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, South Wales, Berkshire, Oxfordshire. Regional presence with local crews and material suppliers enabling rapid response.
Need to understand what's possible with your maintenance budget?
Book a Free, No-Obligation Highways maintenance Assessment
We’ll review your network condition data, assess current maintenance approach, identify opportunities for better value through planned interventions, provide a written report with programme options and fixed-fee quotation.
No obligation, no sales pressure – just expert advice from specialists who’ve managed highway maintenance programmes across hundreds of miles of local authority networks.
Call or fill out our form and we'll be in touch within 24 hours.
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