In association with WJ Group

Wayne Johnston, Founder and CEO at WJ Group said: “Delivering improved roads while minimising costs and environmental impact is a challenge, but by working collaboratively as an industry, it is entirely achievable. One example is the collaborative approach we’ve started with our local authority partners, repairing surface defects whilst carrying out our routine road marking operations.” 

While the new funding is not ringfenced for pothole repair, the Department for Transport (DfT) announcement of the allocations to individual local authorities came in a government press release with the headline “Seven million more potholes to be filled next year as public urged to report roads in need of repair.” The announcement adds that “The government is also making sure authorities spend the money wisely, collect the right data and deliver proactive maintenance before potholes start to form.”

Wayne continued: “The government is right to be taking the problem of potholes on our road network seriously and adopting a more proactive strategy. Through our partnerships, we are already demonstrating how a more efficient approach can be taken. By repairing defects before applying road markings as part of our operations, we avoid the need for separate visits, reducing costs and disruption to road users. Crucially, this approach allows us to intervene before potholes fully form, preventing more costly repairs later. At the same time, we can also address defects identified through engineers’ surveys, streamlining workflows and making better use of available budgets.”

“All of this is delivered using a single vehicle and existing equipment, reducing the number of vehicles required on site, cutting associated fuel consumption, and consequently lowering overall carbon emissions.”

He added: “However, these repairs also need to be delivered alongside other safety-critical maintenance concerns such as addressing inadequate skid resistance and worn-out road markings, both of which play a direct role in reducing accidents. The crucial point is that roads funding needs to go as far as possible. New technologies and ways of working are vital here. Improving productivity is one part of this, enabling crews to complete more work in less time. Another part is using high performance, durable products that can deliver whole life cost benefits such as our Weatherline road marking range that will last in excess of 5 years, whilst having 73% less CO2e owing to its reformulation using a bio based binder.”
 
A DfT transparency data release issued the same day as the funding launch carries a different emphasis from the press announcement, stating: “DfT strongly advocates a risk-based whole life cycle asset management approach to local authority highways maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as bridges, cycleways and lighting columns – not just the fixing of potholes.”

Wayne Johnston added: “This is the sort of pragmatic, data-led approach that will ultimately deliver value to road users through a proactive and long term approach to improve the network. It also offers a promising avenue for maximising the impact of constrained local authority budgets.”

One example of this is retexturing, a technique that improves skid resistance without the high costs and carbon footprint of resurfacing.

“Retexturing delivers significant savings while improving road safety. Using methods such as captive shot blasting or hydro retexturing, authorities can extend the life of road surfaces at a fraction of the financial and carbon cost of full resurfacing.”

A recent report published by WJ Group Making Vision Zero a Reality aligned with the Governments statements. Amongst the report’s recommendations are the need to extend the use of maintainability audits and whole-life approaches to asset management, and to strengthen the ties between these and road safety. In particular, the report advocates for the adoption of the PAS 1261 standard for road condition monitoring to improve safety.

“Road maintenance has a crucial role to play in improving the safety of road users,” said Wayne Johnston. “Funding should be geared towards solutions that enhance safety and deliver whole life cost benefits. That means combining targeted pothole repairs with broader safety measures such as improving skid resistance and refreshing road markings.”

About WJ Group:

WJ Group is the UK’s leading road marking and highway safety business, supporting high speed, local authority and off-highway markets by providing solutions that create safe, sustainable journeys for everyone. We specialise in Road Markings, Studs, Safety Surfacing, Retexturing, Surface Defect Repairs, TASCAR, CCTV, Stopped Vehicle Detection and other ITS solutions.