To whom it may concern, Subject: Highway maintenance and delays Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Please tell me: 1. a) The total number of scheduled highway maintenance carried out to Motorways and A roads in London in the financial years of: 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 b) Out of the above numbers, how many of those scheduled roadworks overran (in days) in the same financial years of: 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 c) For each year, please provide a breakdown and give the reasons why scheduled maintenance works overran their schedules. 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 d) Which motorway had the highest delay? Please state on which portion this happened (Geographical location or between which junctions.) Please state reasons for delays for all three financial years. 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 e) Which A road had the highest delay? (Geographical location or between which junctions.) Please state reasons for delays for all three financial years. 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 d) For each year, please state the extra costs associated with the delays for both in the financial year of: 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 As you know, under the act you are required to provide a response within 20 days. If you do not provide the information requested, you must explain the legal basis for the information being withheld. If you decline part of the request due to information being sensitive, the request being too vague, or reasonable cost being exceeded, you must still provide the part you can fulfill. I look forward to hearing from you. Many Thanks,

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Our ref: FOI-1420-1718/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 11 September 2017 asking for information about highway maintenance.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require.

Please note that we have interpreted your request as requesting information which relates only to planned highway maintenance works, undertaken by TfL, or by contractors working on TfL’s behalf on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN), which includes some of London’s ‘A’ roads. Therefore other roadworks, such as those carried out by utility companies have not been included.

The Highways Agency is responsible for the maintenance of motorways, and therefore TfL cannot answer your requests regarding motorways.

a) The total number of scheduled highway maintenance carried out to Motorways and A roads in London in the financial years of:

2014/2015 20,052

2015/2016 19,710

2016/2017 20,415

b) Out of the above numbers, how many of those scheduled roadworks overran (in days) in the same financial years of:

The statistics below are based on the information recorded in notifications from the contractor carrying out the works. The number of days overrunning is the difference between the last agreed estimated end date, and the actual end date of the works provided within these notifications

2014/2015 132 days (64 works)

2015/2016 153 days (38 works)

2016/2017 72 days (21 works)

c) For each year, please provide a breakdown and give the reasons why scheduled maintenance works overran their schedules.

2014/2015

2015/2016

2016/2017

Unfortunately, to provide a breakdown of the reasons for each of the works which overran would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with requests if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. In this instance, we estimate that the time required to answer your request would exceed 18 hours which, at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations), exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’.

As advised in our answer to b) above, there were 123 highway maintenance works which overran during the three financial years you have requested. There is no central register for this information, and we would therefore need to check the records, and in many cases contact the contractor who holds the records on our behalf, to identify and compile the reason for the delay for each individual works. This would take an excessive amount of time.

However, please see below for the five most common reasons for duration extension requests:

• Engineering difficulties

   

• Resource issues

   

• Inability to obtain materials

   

• Unseen utility diversions

   

• Adverse weather problems

d) Which motorway had the highest delay? Please state on which portion this happened (Geographical location or between which junctions.) Please state reasons for delays for all three financial years.

This information is not held by TfL. We suggest you contact the Highways Agency, which is responsible for motorways in the UK.

e) Which A road had the highest delay? (Geographical location or between which junctions.) Please state reasons for delays for all three financial years.

2014/2015 VAUXHALL BRIDGE (westbound lane 1 approximately 60m west of junction of Grosvenor Rd) – 20 days overrun

Delay was caused by the enforced relocation of feeder pillar/comms cabinet which was not part of the original planned work

2015/2016 BOW ROAD (From Harley Grove to Bow Roundabout) – 31 days overrun

Delay was caused by utility diversions taking longer than planned due to a lack of resource from the utility companies and a blockage in the existing drainage system which required a deep excavation to locate and repair which was not part of the original planned work.

2016/2017 HAMPSTEAD ROAD (westbound outside 2-3) – 17 days overrun

Delay was caused as the works were extended to include an additional section of repair which was not part of the original planned work

f) For each year, please state the extra costs associated with the delays for both in the financial year of:

2014/2015

2015/2016

2016/2017

We do not record details in a way which would allow us to report on the specific extra costs due to the over-running of the works identified above.

If this is not the information you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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