Valuing the wider benefits of road maintenance funding

Abstract

Abstract A model has been developed to improve the evidence for valuing the full benefits of highways maintenance spending on local roads in England. It predicts the quantifiable impacts of levels of road maintenance. It is recognised that there are constraints, due to existing knowledge, with regard to how far some impacts may be quantified. The main drivers for the model was to get a greater understanding of the wider societal impacts in maintenance appraisal, such as vehicle operating costs and user time savings. The model is based around an existing carriageway condition prediction model developed for HMEP. The framework of the model provides the logical design for the various analyses that are undertaken within the model. The analyses are grouped into various modules with each module focussing on a particular function of the model. Following completion of the model, demonstration scenarios were tested to assess the types of analyses that could be run. The analyses allowed different questions to be investigated and hence show the types of ‘what if’ scenarios the model can support when analysing user and other impacts of maintenance. The national level analyses for England (excluding London) using the new tool reinforce and indeed strengthen these earlier conclusions that investing in local highways maintenance can present high to very high value for money.