Weight call from MPs
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BRITAIN'S minor roads are in poor shape according to the House of Commons transport select committee and the 1982 national road maintenance condition survey.
According to the national survey, improvements in the condition of roads between 1977 and 1980 have been largely wiped out over the past two years.
The transport committee, in its report on road maintenance, called for extra cash to be made available immediately. "We believe that, as a minimum, a 10 per cent real increase in expenditure on local road maintenance is likely to be required over several years in order to prevent further deterioration of the road network".
The transport select committee drew up a report without the benefit of the latest national survey report — Transport Secretary David Howell refused to provide it — and criticised the previous one for giving too rosy a picture.
As well as calling for more cash for road maintenance, the all-party committee of MPs urged the Government to be generous in providing money for strengthening bridges to take account of the new 38 tonne lorries.
It pointed out that the Government had consistently underestimated the amount of heavy traffic using motorways and suggested that perhaps the Department of Transport was operating within too fine a margin of error, with design standards not taking enough account of future maintenance costs.
The MPs accused the DTp of "turning a blind eye" to the fact that the increase in the use of heavier lorries has had a bad effect on minor roads.
However, some comfort to Mr Howell was afforded by the committee who backed up his claim that 38 tonne lorries would not cause extra road damage. They also backed the increased environmental effort to stop overloading and called for a review of the existing penalties to ensure they were a real deterrent.
The national survey said lorries with four or more axles were responsible for about two thirds of all road damage on trunk roads and about half the damage on principal roads. On minor roads two axle lorries caused more than half the damage.