Nobody digs roads worsened by work

By The Newsroom
Published 10th Jan 2017, 10:00 BST
Portraits of Lecturers and students at Edinburgh Napier University campus at Merchiston in Edinburgh; Senior lecturer in the TRI department Tom Rye.Portraits of Lecturers and students at Edinburgh Napier University campus at Merchiston in Edinburgh; Senior lecturer in the TRI department Tom Rye.
Portraits of Lecturers and students at Edinburgh Napier University campus at Merchiston in Edinburgh; Senior lecturer in the TRI department Tom Rye.
Utility companies '“ gas, water, electricity and so on '“ dig up our roads with monotonous regularity. In 2015, around 100,000 separate utility roadworks were counted on the Scottish Roadworks Register. That's 100,000 times our roads and pavements were dug up and, in most cases, 'reinstated' (industry jargon for putting them back).

We all know the frustrations this causes; delays to drivers and bus passengers, pavements impassable to older and disabled people, and ultimately the road resurfaced but often, it seems, not quite to the same standard that it was before.

The public are fed up with how often the roads are dug up, the time they waste in traffic, and the deterioration in our roads that seems to result, and the utilities industry’s own public opinion surveys show that people feel strongly that the companies are not doing enough to minimise the disruption that their works cause.

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At present in Scotland, local councils have some powers to control roadworks. They can fine utility companies £120 if they don’t give proper notice of their planned work, but they don’t give those companies permission to go into the road – that is these companies’ legal right. Some other powers can only be pursued through the criminal courts, and so, basically, they are not used. Perhaps most seriously, there are no penalties for poor quality work – the worst that can happen is that the utility company has to pay for a test and mend the road again if it fails.

Portraits of Lecturers and students at Edinburgh Napier University campus at Merchiston in Edinburgh; Senior lecturer in the TRI department Tom Rye.Portraits of Lecturers and students at Edinburgh Napier University campus at Merchiston in Edinburgh; Senior lecturer in the TRI department Tom Rye.
Portraits of Lecturers and students at Edinburgh Napier University campus at Merchiston in Edinburgh; Senior lecturer in the TRI department Tom Rye.

Does it have to be like this? 
Other countries have different powers and practices. For example, in many US states it is typical for councils to take money from utility companies to pay for reinstatements if they are not done well. In Canada, most utility work is done by tunneling, not by digging trenches in the road. And in England, newer law not introduced in Scotland means that companies do not have an automatic right to go into the road. They must get permission from the local council and in two council areas they must also pay to occupy busy roads – so called “lane rental”, paying up to £2,500 per day on the busiest roads. They can also be fined up to £5,000 per day if their works overrun a pre-agreed deadline.