Crackdown on roadworks abuse, says RAC

Utilities contractors may be exaggerating the duration of roadworks by as much as 50% to avoid fines and half of their resurfacing work is not up to scratch, according to the RAC Foundation.

The report, commissioned by the Department for Transport, reveals:

• There are twice as many excavations per month from the water sector compared to gas, telecoms or electricity sectors.
• These other sectors display similar levels and patterns of activity.
• The utilities have increased the estimates of time that their work will take to avoid charges, but the authorities are not challenging the estimates.
• The report estimates that there are at least 1.1 million street works per year
• Utilities appear to be over-estimating the duration of major and standard works by at least 35% and up to 50% more than the actual durations of these works
• The overestimate exceeds the actual duration by up to 50%.
• Co-ordination is weak as most authorities are unable to monitor, challenge and co-ordinate because of limited resources and bad management.

The RAC Foundation is calling for new legislation to improve the situation. A new bill, designed to tackle the street works nightmare, may be included in the Queen's Speech later this month.

The new bill is also expected to increase the level of fines that utility contractors and companies will have to pay if they abuse their powers. At the moment, many utility companies are believed to claim that their work is an emergency to avoid having it monitored by the local authority, the RAC Foundation said.