Highways maintenance transparency report 2026

Highways maintenance plan for 2026-27

During 2026/27 we will be completing the following highway maintenance schemes:

• Carriageway surface dressing on 44km of roads, at 20 locations
• Carriageway micro asphalt surfacing on 3km of roads, at 8 locations
• Carriageway resurfacing on 4.5km of roads, at 6 locations
• Carriageway reconstructing using recycling methods 6km of roads, at 2 locations
• Footway surfacing 0.5km at 2 locations
• Footway surface treatment on 1.5 km of footways, at 3 locations
• Bridge maintenance and repairs of 14 structures
• Drainage improvement work at 6 locations
• Traffic signal upgrading works at 4 locations

Full list of planned carriageway and footway works 

The full list of carriageway and footway schemes planned for 2026/27 can be found on our planned works.

How decisions are made on our maintenance plans 

Our Highway Asset Management Strategy Highways plans and strategies sets out how we maintain all highway assets.

We prioritise highway maintenance using an evidence-led, risk-based asset management approach. Safety is the first consideration, with urgent defects identified through routine inspections, public reports and operational monitoring addressed in line with the Highway Maintenance and Response Framework. Planned works are prioritised using asset condition data, lifecycle modelling and the Holistic Evaluation and Assessment Tool (HEAT), which scores schemes against condition, safety, network importance, efficiency, customer/stakeholder factors and wider impacts.

This ensures investment is targeted where it delivers the greatest benefit, particularly on critical routes, high-use assets and locations where deterioration could affect safety, resilience or accessibility. We prioritise preventative maintenance, to treat assets at the right point in their lifecycle, reducing future costs and avoiding more disruptive repairs.

Efficiency is delivered through coordinated forward programmes, combining works where possible, sharing road space, using innovation and new materials, monitoring performance, and working collaboratively with service providers, utilities and stakeholders.

Last updated 25 August 2026