According to the BBC, utility companies employed to carry out the works only completed them to the required standard in 75% of cases during 2009.
Devon county council have indicated that it could cost them as much as £4 million to put right the work which has been done to an inadequate standard since 2005.
However, the figure of 75% is actually an increase on the previous year’s repairs when only 55% where completed to the correct standard in 2008.
However, Councillor Stuart Hughes, the council’s cabinet member for highways and transportation, stated that the standard of compliance was still not satisfactory.
He said “Their work has to be done correctly otherwise sub-standard reinstatements will continue to damage our roads which are a valuable asset for the county and that is just not acceptable.”
Utility companies were quick to defend themselves, with Western Power Distribution stating that it was “always seeking ways to further improve performance.” And that it took the role of maintaining road quality “very seriously”. Another company South West Water said that, together with its contractors, it had made significant improvements in the quality of its repair work over the past four years.
Poorly maintained or damaged roads create a risk to road users and can be a considerable contributory factor in accidents occurring. Local councils have the overall responsibility for maintaining roads and keeping them as safe as possible although obviously with utility companies it has to allow them access to the roads to lay cabling or pipes. As a result councils are reliant on them to assist them in keeping roads surfaces of a sufficiently high standard to enable them to reduce the risk of accidents occurring. The strong reaction of the utility companies to this accusation hopefully indicates that they are committed to ensuring that the standard of repairs is raised in the future.
