Publication - FOI/EIR release

Information re M74 Hamilton J6 via Raith northbound: EIR release

Published: 18 July 2018
Part of: Public sector, Transport

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

FOI reference: FOI/18/01504
Date received: 30 May 2018
Date responded: 28 June 2018

Information requested

In relation to the M74 northbound carriageway inside lane "Exit 6" 'Hamilton' through to Raith interchange northbound M74:

1 – A copy of your current road maintenance policy relating to that stretch of M74, which should include details of the intended frequency of road safety inspections, how these inspections should be conducted and the maximum time between identification of a defect and repairs being carried out.

2 – Dates of all safety inspections undertaken on the carriageway in the 3 months preceding the date of my incident (19/03/2018) could you highlight junction 6 Northbound through to Raith Interchange.

3 – A copy of the road repair history for that particular stretch of M74 carriageway over the past year, which should include:

specifically dates of all safety inspections between 1st December up to 19th March 2018.
Details of how safety inspections were undertaken (walked or driven, speed of inspection vehicle etc)
Details of all carriageway defects identified, with description, date and time.
Details of how the authority handled these defects, what repairs were undertaken and the time between the identification of each defect and a repair being carried out.
Details of the Type/Category of potholes, carriage way defect identified

4 – The intended frequency of carriageway safety inspections for this part of the motorway.

5 – Details of all complaints and/or enquiries relating to this stretch of carriageway, received in the 12 months preceding my incident.

6- The defect intervention criteria adopted in relation to the identification of all categories of carriageway potholes.

7 – The time period(s) adopted between identification and repair (temporary and permanent) of all categories of carriageway defects on this stretch of M74.

8 – The date and time this series of potholes were repaired.

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.

Response

The contract for the Design, Build, Finance and Operation of the M8 M73 M74 Improvements Project was awarded to Scottish Roads Partnership (SRP) in February 2014. As such, SRP is responsible for the funding, final design, construction and subsequent maintenance of the completed scheme for a period of 30 years on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. Turning now to your request.

Q1 – Schedule 4 of the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project Contract lays out the requirements for Operations and Maintenance on the project roads. SRP is required to undertake safety inspections every 7 days and undertake safety patrols every 7 days midway between safety inspections. SRP advise that safety inspections for that stretch of road are generally carried out every Tuesday with safety patrols being undertaken every Friday. These inspections are conducted by competent personnel surveying the carriageway for safety defects in a vehicle driving as slow as possible for the stretch of road. Safety Inspections and Patrols identify hazards and defects. Hazards and defects identified during the inspections shall be recorded as 'Category 1' defects within 24 hours of the patrol having being completed. For hazardous pavement defects a temporary repair is carried out by 6am the morning after identification, with the permanent repair being carried out within 28 days.

The contract documentation can be found at the following link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/projects/m8-m73-m74-motorway-improvements/document-library/m8-m73-m74-contract-documentation/

Q2 – Please see table below; In the 3 months preceding 19/03/2018, Safety Inspections were undertaken on the carriageway on junction 6 northbound through to Raith Interchange on the following dates.

December 2017	January 2018	February 2018	March 2018
26th	2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th	6th, 13th, 20th, 27th	6th, 13th

Q3 –Between 1st December and 19th March 2018 safety inspections were carried out at the location you refer to on the following dates.

December 2017	January 2018	February 2018	March 2018
5th, 12th, 19th, 26th	2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th	6th, 13th, 20th, 27th	6th, 13th

i – Safety inspections are carried out from a vehicle driving as slow as possible without affecting the flow of traffic, using a two person team.

ii – The details of the defects identified during the inspections along with the date and time can be found on the enclosed attachment titled 'M74incidents'.

iii – Details of how these defects were handled, what repairs were undertaken and the time between the identification of each defect and a repair being carried out can be found on the enclosed attachment titled 'M74 carriageway defects'.

iv – Details of the Type/Category of potholes and carriageway defect identified can be found on the enclosed attachment titled 'M74 carriageway defects'.

Q4 SRP is required to undertake safety inspections every 7 days and undertake safety patrols every 7 days midway between safety inspections. SRP advise that safety inspections for that stretch of road are generally carried out every Tuesday with Safety Patrols being undertaken every Friday.

Q5 - Details of all complaints and/or enquiries relating to this stretch of carriageway, received since 19 March 2017 can be found on the enclosed attachment titled 'Complaints'.

Q6 - The defect intervention criteria adopted in relation to the identification of all categories of carriageway potholes is detail in Section 5 of the Transport Scotland Trunk Road Inspection Manual a copy of which has been attached for your reference.

Q7 – The time period (s) adopted between identification and repair (temporary and permanent) of all categories of carriageway defects on this stretch of M74 are as per the requirements laid out under the contract in Schedule 4 (link provided above): Defects that require prompt attention because they represent an immediate or imminent hazard shall be classified as Category 1 Defects.

Category 1 – to be made safe by 6 am the following morning (if it cannot be made safe immediately) and permanent repair within 28 days. Category 2 – no time constraint

Q8 – Details of all the defects identified at this location for the relevant time period can be found on the enclosed attachment titled 'M74 incidents'

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