A leading highways industry body has backed growing calls for a regulatory asset base (RAB) model to secure private investment to plug the funding gap in the UK road network.

Hot on the heels of a CBI report proposing the introduction of the RAB model to fund roads, the Road Surface Treatments Association suggests a regulated model will address the need for long-term funding.

The RSTA agrees with business leaders that the current funding model is unsustainable as illustrated by a £10bn shortfall in funding for Highways Agency projects. It points to the successful transition of a similar model to the water industry, which generated £98bn of private investment since the 1980s with capped charges on customers.

The model being touted by the CBI and RSTA would see a new governance structure drawn up for the road network to raise performance and push efficiencies. An independent road regulator would be established and private operators manage regional sections of the network to strict performance and maintenance standards. A price cap would be enforced to ensure the network was affordable for all motorists.

'Motorists do not differentiate between a national or local road. They simply want a smooth, safe and uninterrupted journey. Given the poor state of repair of many of our roads, national and local, this is not guaranteed,' Howard Robinson, chief executive of the RSTA said.

He blamed funding gaps and a lack of investment for causing significant difficulties to highways authorities and contractors trying to maintain the network.

'Transferring the management and maintenance of the road network to a long-term investment and funding model would ensure that a best, whole-life cost approach is widely adopted,' he claimed.