About our highway network
Our highway network is made up of:
- 660 kilometres of carriageway
- 1,200 kilometres of footway (footpaths at the side of the road)
- 330 kilometres of Public Rights of Way (for example, footpaths and bridleways)
- 228 structures
- 20,599 street lighting columns
- 42,500 road gullies (including drainage)
- Approximately 15,000 non-illuminated signs, guardrails and street furniture
The highway network across the Bury borough is worth almost £1 billion (based on a modern-day replacement valuation).
Maintaining our highway network
We repair and maintain most roads across the Bury borough, including the footways, street lights, road signs, bridges and other structures. We also maintain roadside verges and highway hedges and trees.
The roads we maintain are called adopted roads. Adopted roads are maintained at public expense, by the highway authority. In the Bury borough, this is Bury Council. Adopted roads do not include private roads or the main trunk roads.
All adopted roads are regularly inspected and maintained. As well as repairs to the surface, other works may include:
- Grass cutting, tree pruning and weed killing
- Drain cleaning
- Repairing road markings
- Maintaining and improving street lights
- Repairing, replacing and installing signs
Other highways, such as Public Rights of Way, are open to the public but are not inspected or maintained to the same level.
Maintaining highway structures
A highway structure can be anything that supports or spans the highway. As the highway authority, we maintain over 300 structures.
These structures can be on the adopted highway or on Public Rights of Way. Such structures include:
- Road bridges
- Footbridges
- Subways
- Retaining walls
- Culverts
We also maintain bridges and highway structures owned by the East Lancashire Railway.
To maintain the structures we are responsible for we:
- Undertake inspections
- Carry out repairs
- Replace structures when a repair is not practical
While most structures within the Bury borough are our responsibility, some structures are managed by third parties.
- Motorway structures are managed by National Highways (report a maintenance issue to National Highways)
- Metrolink structures are managed by Transport for Greater Manchester (contact Metrolink)
Highway inspections
We maintain each of the highway structures we are responsible for by carrying out inspections.
- General inspections are carried out every two years
- Detailed inspections and assessments are usually carried out every six years and include assessing load capacity to determine any maintenance needs.
Private roads
A private road is a road that has not been adopted by us as the local highway authority.
Private roads are maintained by the owner. This may be the residents who each own a part of the road in front of their house, or a third party, usually a developer. Owners can restrict access to private roads.
How does a private road become adopted?
If a road is built by us, adoption is usually straightforward. If a road is built by a third party, eg the builder of a residential, commercial or industrial development, a legal agreement is made with us to make sure that the new highway is adopted into the overall network.
When we are asked to adopt a road, we must ensure that:
- The third-party proposing adoption has ownership rights
- The road is suitably built and meets design standards, eg road layout and alignment
- The road is in good repair with no defects
- The drains and street lights meet the necessary standards
We may also require a financial contribution for any future maintenance.
How to check if a road is adopted
We regularly review and update the list of adopted roads within the Bury borough. The list of adopted roads is regularly reviewed and updated whenever a new road is adopted.
A list and map view of adopted roads in the Bury borough can be found at the National Street Gazetteer street look-up: