Local highways maintenance transparency report 2025-2026

• 15km barriers and guardrails
• 7,000 (approx) non-illuminated bollards
• 15,000 road signs

• 42 culverts, 16 of which pass under roads
• 42,000 (approx) gullies and drains.

To record all flood risk assets, we are developing a drainage asset register.

• 63 highway bridges (43 are road bridges)
• 51 highway retaining walls.
• 13 subways

• 1,200 (approx) illuminated Traffic Signs.
• 40 illuminated pedestrian Island bollards (Illuminated).
• 900 (approx) reflective pedestrian island bollards.
• 21,000 (approx) street lights.

• 6,000 (approx) trees
• Grass verges

Bury Council, as highways authority, is determined to ensure that our highway network is safe for highway users and is in good condition. This requires prudent use of available financial resources, striking a balance between meeting day to day reactive maintenance demands and maximising the use of more cost-efficient forms of planned preventative highway maintenance.

Highway structure schemes

We have recently had approved a re-profiling of expenditure to account for an increased need on structures with a number of major schemes due to be completed in the current financial year 2025/26 and into 2026/27.

We also plan to complete a new cycle bridge over the River Irwell this year, to replace one that collapsed during the 2015 floods. This scheme is funded through CRSTS and the Mayor's Challenge Fund.

Day-to-day reactive maintenance

Day to day reactive maintenance activities, such as pothole repairs, are identified through our system of routine highway safety inspections. These inspections adopt a risk-based approach, prioritising repairs to those defects which pose the greatest risk to road users. Emphasis is placed on reactive repairs being carried out in a ‘right first time’ way, where appropriate and efficient to do so. This approach helps to ensure that our highway network is safe whilst targeting resources where there is most risk.

Maximising the benefits of capital  investment

Resurfacing and planned preventative highway maintenance works, including surface dressing, micro-asphalt and asphalt preservation are typically determined through a combination of asset condition data provided by our SCANNER and CVI condition surveys, skid resistance surveys, historical maintenance records, accident data, traffic speed limits, population density and network hierarchy with officer input from visual surveys.

Emphasis is placed on ensuring that the serviceable life of roads is extended through the use of surface dressing, micro-asphalt and asphalt preservation as these interventions are more cost efficient than resurfacing. To support this a proportion of our capital allocation is specifically dedicated to preventative maintenance year on year.

Roads are assessed for early signs of deterioration, such as surface cracking and crazing, loss of skid resistance and loss of aggregate, before they reach the point that resurfacing is needed.

This helps to ensure that we maximise the benefits of our capital investment into the highway asset, by adopting a ‘prevention is better than cure’ approach, and protecting the original capital investment.

Increasing the proportion of preventative highway maintenance is a strategic priority, which will minimise long-term costs, stabilise highway network condition, protect critical infrastructure, support economic growth in the borough and improved user satisfaction.

2024/25

• We surface dressed approximately 9 miles of the adopted highway network. This corresponds to around 85,000 square metres.
• We resurfaced approximately 4.8 km of A, B and C roads together with a further 6.5 km of unclassified roads on the adopted highway network.

2025/26 

• We plan to surface dress approximately 7.5 miles of the adopted highway network. This corresponds to around 70,000 square metres.
• We plan to resurface approximately 1.25 km of A, B and C roads together with a further 8.5 km of unclassified roads. of the adopted highway network.

Surveys of A, B and C roads are undertaken in opposite directions each year so that after two years we have data for both directions of travel.

Road condition assessments on the local classified road network in England are currently made predominantly using surface condition assessment for the national network of roads (SCANNER) laser-based technology.

A number of parameters measured in these surveys are used to produce a road condition indicator (CI) which is categorised into three condition categories. These are:

• Green (CI is less than 40): No further investigation or treatment required
• Amber (CI is 40 or more): Maintenance may be required soon
• Red (CI is 100 or more): Should be considered for maintenance

From 2026 to 2027 a new methodology will be used based on the BSI PAS2161 standard. Local highways authorities will be required to use a supplier that has been accredited against PAS2161. This new standard will categorise roads into five categories instead of three to help government gain a more detailed understanding of road condition in England.

We survey 50% of the Unclassified network annually. Unclassified roads are surveyed in only one direction and we have full network coverage over two years.

The condition of our Unclassified roads is determined using a Coarse Visual Inspection by accredited surveyors, that determine measurements of different defects whilst being driven along our network.

A number of parameters measured in these surveys are used to produce a road condition indicator (CI). 

• Red: Where the section has exceeded the point where surface or structural repair should be considered. This is the only nationally specified parameter. Wearing Course CI is 60 or more
• Unlike for A, B & C roads, there are no nationally agreed determination of Amber or Green bands

Bury Council recognises the importance of optimal maintenance practices to ensure the vital highway assets that connect people, businesses and the services the council provides are serviceable and has committed to invest an additional £30 million for highway maintenance activities over and above any budget allocated by the DfT for the financial years 2017/18 to end of 2025/26.

A well-maintained highway supports our corporate LET'S Do It Strategy and the priorities within it. LET'S Do It is our 10 year clear ambition and delivery plan to achieve our goal to stand out as a place that is achieving faster economic growth than the national average, with lower than national average levels of deprivation. 

• See: Let's Do It! strategy

During this period of increased investment, we have revised how funding is distributed across the various classifications of highway. This decision is based on a combination of our own assessments, input from elected representatives, and a careful review of condition data to ensure investment is directed where it is most needed. 

Bury Council is committed to being at the forefront of innovation and sharing industry best practice. We engage in both national and regional forums, and network with colleagues across Greater Manchester and with industry leaders as follows.

• National and regional highways conferences
• CIPFA Highways Asset Management Planning Network
• Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) Highways Group
• GM Highways Asset Management Plan (HAMP) Group
• GM Highway Benchmarking Group
• GM Winter Service Group

Officers engage in industry-focused Continuous Professional Development through professional institutions.

Technologies trials

Our highway maintenance teams have trialed several technologies including jet patching, thermal patching, slurry patching, medium temperature asphalts and several proprietary repair materials. These trials have led to the purchase of a Jet Patcher machine and regular use of slurry and proprietary repairs.

Digital transformation 

Bury Council has harnessed efficiencies through digital transformation programmes including rolling out a geospatial asset and works management database which provides a digital end to end inspection and repair solution, with map-based online reporting.

Benchmarking and pooling resources

Benchmarking across Greater Manchester local authorities drives innovation, performance and efficiencies in highway maintenance. Comparison of performance metrics and sharing outcomes from innovation trials enables a culture of learning and the adoption of best practices.

Bury Council also pools resources around procurement and provision of the winter service with our GM neighbours, resulting in greater efficiencies and improved outcomes.

• Resurface approximately 9.75 km of roads.
• Surface dress approximately 7.5 km of roads.
• Improve 30 footways.
• Upgrade 2,000+ lanterns on main traffic routes to LED.
• Replace or refurbish 2 foot/cycle bridges
• Strengthen a major retaining wall supporting the A56
• Replace bearings to a structure in a key town centre location
• Fill approximately 10,000 potholes.

Current arrangements

We are part of the Greater Manchester Road Activity Permit Scheme (GMRAPS). This provides consistency and a joined-up approach to co-ordination of street works across the Greater Manchester region.

Anyone wishing to undertake roadworks must apply for a permit, which allows us to assess their plans, direct timings and even add conditions to minimise the disruption to the travelling public. Furthermore, to stop our resurfaced roads from being dug up we also notify utility companies before we start to see if they have planned works, which can be undertaken before ours.

Future plans

We are also looking to be a lane rental authority where we can charge a daily rate for works on our busiest roads during the busiest times. This should incentivise organisations that undertake roadworks by making them think about how they intend to carry out their works and look for innovative ways to avoid the charge by using no dig techniques, collaborating with other roadworks or working outside of the peak periods.

In order to decarbonise maintenance operations, Bury Council carried out a three-year vehicle and plant replacement strategy from 2020/21 to 2022/23. The vehicle replacement scheme provided the opportunity to reduce vehicle emissions and air polluting emissions. The scheme helped our operational section contribute to the council’s target to become carbon neutral by 2030.

The council has procured tenders to purchase more electric vehicles and has installed electrical charging infrastructure at their operational depot.

We recognise the importance of climate change to our future planning of schemes and are collaborating with the Environment Agency (EA) to improve resilience of our existing structures, including river bridges and culverts.

We have just completed the main works of a partner scheme with the EA to relieve flooding in Radcliffe and are finalising the design of a flood gate scheme to Hardy’s Gate Bridge to complete these works.

We prioritise works to culverts and structures where failure or blockage may represent a significant flood risk.

We are undertaking a programme of upgrading subway lighting to more efficient low energy LED units.

New highways and development

All new highway schemes and new development will prioritise the use of sustainable drainage (SuDS) techniques to reduce impact on the sewer network and provide attenuation of run-off to reduce flood risk.

The Places for Everyone development sites include strict conditions regarding holistic approach to green SuDS for the whole of a site.

We have converted approximately 70% of our streetlights to LED lanterns and we are currently targeting over 2,000 larger main road units next. The Street Lighting Team has replaced over 14,500 units over three phases of LED invest to save schemes.

Replacing traditional streetlights with low-energy LED units is helping us to reduce energy consumption.

Dimming and trimming through better connectivity using an advanced central monitoring computer-based management system enables us to better monitor energy consumption and fault occurrences.

We are decarbonising maintenance operations due to fewer fault repairs and lamp replacements being required on the network.

Our procurement practice ensures that our supply chain are invested in sustainable practices such as reducing carbon footprint, eco-friendly practices, responsible sourcing and delivering social value.

We have trialed warm-mix asphalts and have held meetings with key suppliers within the industry regarding carbon reduction in highway maintenance.

Following a series of national transport infrastructure major disturbances the Government published the Transport Resilience Review in 2014. We used the review to establish our own resilience practices to ensure we understand the risks from changing climate and have mitigation actions in place.

A resilient network has been defined across Greater Manchester in a collaborative effort. This network is the most important part of the highway network that provides access to vital facilities and support for communities.

The resilient network in Bury is given some additional weighting in our resurfacing prioritisation and a number of responses to certain disturbances such as adverse weather, heat, etc have been planned for in our own Highway Resilience Strategy.