ROAD users in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area will be able to expect better carriageway surfaces next year following a decision by councillors today.

At the Economy, Tourism, Strategic Planning and Transportation Committee, members approved Fife’s ‘Road Asset Condition Inspections – Policy & Standards’, which takes a risk-based approach, and will mean better quality road repairs.

The new policy will free-up council resources to enable many temporary repairs to be replaced by quality, much more durable repairs. This will help improve the quality of Fife’s road network condition in the medium to long term.

Cllr Altany Craik, convener of the committee, said: “This change to policy represents better value and a better service for residents and visitors to Fife.

"This approach clearly prioritises repairing defects that pose the highest risk to road users, to ensure that they are treated first.”

The new national Code of Practice and supporting guidance produced by SCOTS enables Fife Council to implement a risk-based approach for road condition inspections and categorise repairs according to risk. The new approach will: Make roads safer for all users by repairing high-risk defects quicker; Offer best value by reducing the number of defects allocated to the incorrect priority, allowing increased investment in durable, first-time permanent repairs rather than repetitive, ineffective and short-term temporary repairs; Improve the road network condition by undertaking a higher proportion of permanent repairs; Improve public perception of quality of repairs; and Reduce the council’s carbon footprint through the reduction in waste caused by undertaking repetitive temporary repairs.

Ensure compliance with statutory requirements and the new national Code of Practice. The change to policy will be implemented from April 1 2020.

Fife Council’s current process is to treat all ‘safety defects’, such as pot holes, within one to five days. During winter, when defects are numerous, these targets can be challenging and can result in the repair of more dangerous faults to be delayed due to the same requirement to repair lower-risk defects.

In extreme weather, resources can be at risk of becoming overwhelmed by the volume of repairs, which can force repair quality to be compromised to avoid backlogs.

Councillors noted the benefits of moving to a risk-based approach for road asset management, which is promoted through national guidance – ‘Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure - A Code of Practice.