Structures Maintenance Plan

11.1  As the Highway Authority, the Council has a duty to ensure that any new structure being constructed within or over an existing or proposed highway or works which affect existing highway structures are constructed to an acceptable standard. This is achieved through a Technical Approval process.

11.2  Full information and guidance on the Technical Approval process, including the fees associated with processing a request are available by contacting our Design Consultancy team using the following email address. EGDS@stockton.gov.uk

11.3 Structures being built as part of any development, irrespective of whether or not they will be maintainable by the Highway Authority, are included in the Technical Approval process if they;

• Are adjacent to the highway and interfere with the support of the highway or access to it for inspection and maintenance
• Form part of any road that is to be adopted into the highway under a Section 38, Highways Act 1980 agreement
• Form part of any road that is being built under a Section 278, Highways Act 1980 agreement.

11.4  In order to promote effective liaison between the developer and the approving authority, the developers are informed early in the development planning stages that they must gain Technical Approval for their designs and inform the Highway Authority of their proposals as soon as possible. This early communication ensures that the approval process does not cause undue delay to the development and helps avoid potentially abortive work by the developer.

11.5  Once the design has been approved and the structure has been constructed, and prior to handover, it will subjected to an acceptance inspection by the Highway Authority and the developer. The scope of the acceptance inspection will depend on the circumstances e.g. handover of a new structure or transfer of an existing structure. In general terms for the handover of a new structure, the acceptance inspection will include;

• The identification of any permanent access provisions and features affecting the safety and security of the structure
• The identification and handover of all necessary records, maintenance and operating manuals which have an impact on the future management of the structure
• Agreement of the date on which the authority takes over responsibility for the structure
• A principal inspection carried out one month before the issue of the completion document or opening to traffic. The inspection should identify and record any defects, developing problems and work outstanding under the contract and secure agreement on any works to be completed before handover. This should act as the benchmark for future inspections including those to be carried out at the end of the Defects Correction period.
• A defects correction period during which the contractor is responsible for making good defects that appear. The length of the Defects Correction period should be specified in the contract.
• Prior to the end of the Defects Correction period a further inspection shall be carried out to identify any residual defects before the end of the contractual obligations. The inspection can be either a General or Principal inspection depending upon the type and form of the structure and the length of time since the handover or last inspection. The timing of this inspection shall be sufficient to allow agreement of the work to be undertaken by the contractor and, if necessary, enforcement of contractual obligations.
• Handover of asset information, in the appropriate format, and at the appropriate BIM level, for the Authority to take over the new structure.
• Calculation and transfer of Commuted Maintenance Sums.

11.6    A procedure similar to the above will be used for the transfer of existing assets.