The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a preventative approach to road maintenance can help local authorities detect potholes earlier and reduce the repairs backlog, council leaders say.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has published a guide highlighting best practice and the latest approaches to highways maintenance.
The guide, which draws on lessons from multiple case studies, emphasises the importance of using innovative technology to identify defects and flag potholes.
It also explains how proactive maintenance produces much better value for money than emergency reactive repairs.
This year’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey found that £16.81bn is required by councils to bring the network up to their ‘ideal’ conditions.
The LGA is calling on Government to use the upcoming Spending Review to guarantee multi-year funding certainty for councils’ highways maintenance budgets.
Cllr Adam Hug, transport spokesperson for the LGA, said: ‘Councillors across the country know that potholes are a very visible, tangible concern for residents and this guide can help in finding out what more they can do to keep our local roads in good condition.
‘Innovative technology such as AI can make a real difference when planning ahead, to ensure roads get treated in the right way, at the right time, in the right place – saving money and minimising disruption.’
Check out: Highway Maintenance Budgets: The Long View and Potholes: Treating the illness not just the symptom.
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