Inverclyde Trunk Road Network: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
FOI reference: FOI/18/00609
Date received: 16 February 2018
Date responded: 12 March 2018
Information requested
What condition would transport Scotland currently class the Trunk Road Network contained within Inverclyde?
What works are planned to address the concerns of Inverclyde residents and how much will be spent on these works?
How much has transport Scotland spent on Inverclyde Trunk Roads in the past 5 years?
Response
As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
The response to Number 1 is below and the response to Numbers 2 and 3 are in the atttached Annexes.
1. We fully recognise the importance of a safe and reliable trunk road network and the budget for maintenance for the roads we look after has increased by around £65 million to £433m in 2018/2019. The condition of the trunk road network is assessed in a number of different ways. Transport Scotland conduct machine based surveys every year that measure certain characteristics and properties of the road. These various metrics can be combined into a single indicator, which provides a useful benchmark that can be applied across the network. In 2017, data gathered from the Inverclyde area indicates that around 79% of the trunk road network was in "acceptable" condition. The remaining 21% is where future planned maintenance should be considered and this information is used when maintenance programmes are being compiled.
It is worth noting that the surveys only provide a snapshot of condition and also that roads continually deteriorate, especially during periods of winter weather when the freeze-thaw cycle can be particularly damaging (as has been experienced following the recent period of severe winter weather). Surveys are therefore supplemented with regular inspections conducted by our Operating Company. They monitor routes routinely including weekly safety inspections to find defects that require urgent attention to ensure the continued safe function of the road. More detailed inspections are also used periodically throughout the year to assess general condition and to inform maintenance decisions.
In times of financial constraint we are making significant efforts to maximise every penny that is spent on maintenance and our Road Asset Management Plan sets out how we prioritise maintenance and ensure cost-effective use of resources. This plan can be found at the link below;
About FOI
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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