Highway repairs and maintenance

The highways network is Harrow’s largest asset. It includes 1615 roads over 457 km in length and has a gross replacement cost of over £800 million.

There is currently a significant backlog of maintenance, valued at about £100 million. Therefore it's important to maximise our resources and keep the network serviceable. The council has a system that prioritises resources through two main areas of work:

  • Reactive maintenance. This deals with immediate risks to the public from minor defects.
  • Structural maintenance. This addresses large scale refurbishment due to significant deterioration of the highway structure.

Reactive maintenance

All footways and carriageways in the borough are inspected by the council three or four times a year. Minor works and repairs are carried out when necessary. For example, when potential hazards to pedestrians or vehicles are flagged up. This is to keep the environment safe and to comply with national guidance.

Report a fault

Highway inspectors carry out additional safety inspections. These are in response to reports from the public.

If you need to report a defect use the button below:

Report a street or footpath fault

Structural maintenance

Major work programmes are developed on the basis of annual condition surveys. These are done by specialised highway surveyors. They meet an agreed UK pavement management assessment system .

The surveys are reviewed in accordance with the principles of the council’s highway asset management strategy. This determines the maintenance priorities for the year.

As far as practicable the council will produce a targeted programme of works. It takes account of the:

  • condition surveys
  • traffic usage
  • reactive maintenance history
  • any other identified risks

The aim is to achieve the maximum benefit from the resources available. It seeks to maximise the highway's longevity while minimising the speed of deterioration and future maintenance costs. There are two main structural maintenance programmes. One is for carriageways resurfacing, and the other for footways reconstruction.

Implementation of structural maintenance works

With regard to the implementation of work programmes it is important to note that:

  • Residents are notified in advance of any major works and temporary traffic management.
  • Works only relate to the part of a street where the structural defects are identified. It is not the norm to do whole streets as a matter of course.
  • Any works identified address serious structural defects. This is to minimise future maintenance liabilities and costs. The treatments proposed will be the most cost effective solutions required. Any purely cosmetic treatments will not be taken forward.
  • Works require the occupation of road space to be agreed up to three months in advance. They are subject to set timescales and conditions regarding traffic management. So they cannot be changed at short notice.
  • Works are subject to change in the event of:
    • adverse weather conditions
    • emergencies
    • unforeseen circumstances that might cause disruption to the flow of traffic