Structures Maintenance Plan
1. Introduction and Legal Framework
1.1 This Structures Maintenance Plan (SMP) sets out the Council's management, inspection, survey and maintenance levels for highway structures within the Borough. The plan has been developed to align with the principles and recommendations set out in the Well Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice published in October 2016.
1.2 The Council's Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Strategy (HIAMS) sets out the long term plan for managing all highway assets, founded on the key principles of asset management, best value and risk assessment, by applying programmed maintenance to maintain the structural integrity of the asset. This SMP is a supplementary document to the HIAMS providing the operational details required to achieve the long term plans detailed therein.
1.3 The Highways Act 1980 sets out the main duties of Highways Authorities and in particular, section 41 imposes a duty to maintain highways that are maintainable at public expense.
1.4 Where a highway passes over a bridge, Section 328(2) of the Highways Act 1980 vests the bridge as part of the highway and the normal duty to maintain under Section 41 applies under these circumstances. However this does not preclude bridges under highways being in private ownership and hence the maintenance responsibility will, rightly, lie with the private owner.
1.5 In other instances structures can be in the ownership of a third party where the predominant function is to carry or crossover that party's asset. For instance Highways England generally own bridges that carry or crossover the Strategic Road Network, Network Rail generally own assets that carry rail lines whilst The Canal and Rivers Trust own some bridges that crossover or carry watercourses.
1.6 For the purposes of this SMP, the types of highway structures covered are those within the boundaries of the highway or which otherwise materially affect it as defined below;
Structure Type | Definition |
|---|---|
Bridge | A structure with a span of 1.5m or more spanning and providing passage over an obstacle e.g. watercourse, railway, road or valley. This category also covers subways, footbridges and underpasses |
Cantilever Road Sign | A structure with a single support that projects over the highway in order to carry a traffic sign. |
Cellar or Vault | An underground room or chamber with a maximum plan dimension of 1.5m or more. |
Culvert | A drainage structure with a span of 1.5m or more passing beneath a highway embankment that has a proportion of the embankment, rather than a bridge deck between its uppermost point and the road construction. |
Retaining Wall | A wall associated with the highway where the dominant function is to act as a retaining structure with a minimum retained height of 1.35m. |
Road Tunnel | A tunnel with an enclosed length of 150m or more through which a road passes |
Sign / Signal Gantry | A structure spanning the highway, the primary function of which is to support traffic signs and signalling equipment. |
1.7 However for operational reasons and in the interests of network safety and serviceability it may be necessary to include similar structures whose dimensions fall outside of those listed above. The term highway structure is used throughout this plan to refer collectively to all of the above structure types.
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