Local highways maintenance transparency report - Climate change, resilience and adaption

The West Midlands regional highway authorities have collaborated closely with the Combined Authority and Transport for the West Midlands to develop a better understanding of the negative impacts of highway infrastructure maintenance activities upon the environment, and to seek better ways to mitigate or offset the carbon generated by highway works.

Walsall has actively participated in the Future Highways Research Group (FHRG) “Live Labs 2” Carbon Calculation Accounting Standard and Analysis Programme endorsed by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & transport (ADEPT), to develop enhanced practices for its highway’s maintenance operations.

The process is designed to increase awareness for highways maintenance practitioners to lead them towards better decision making and to adopt new technologies, materials and processes over the longer-term throughout the supply chain, reducing as far as practical the carbon costs associated with delivering maintenance works.

Walsall’s partners and contractors have contributed pro-actively to the process, including where practical switching to technologies such as electric vehicles or plant and delivering maintenance schemes utilising Low Energy Asphalt (LEA) materials for locations where durability parameters permit. The increased use of preventative maintenance programmes also helps bring about greater asset lifecycles across the network, thus reducing carbon, and the use of recycled materials is being increasingly considered within the preliminary design of planned maintenance schemes.

Resilience risk assessments have been carried out for significant operational activities with specific regard to climate change impact, and a Highways Maintainability Audit procedure has been rolled out to promote better decision making for the design of maintenance schemes and new build projects being implemented throughout the highway network.