Road Openings by Utilities: Follow-up to Recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee

The road network is a major public asset below which runs a complicated network of utility
pipes and cables. Utilities have to maintain their infrastructure network and this requires them
to open roads and footpaths. In 2006/07 there were approximately 35,000 road openings by
utilities. Failure by utilities to reinstate such road openings to required standards can reduce
the service life of the road or footpath and can also result in considerable disruption and traffic
congestion to road users.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a report on this issue in April 2002 which
addressed a number of key areas including the need for a fully functioning register of street
works; a robust and effective inspection process; demanding performance targets; and
significant performance improvement in the quality of reinstatement, particularly by the
Water Service.
The report published today by John Dowdall CB, the Comptroller and Auditor General,
examines the progress, in the period since 2002, made by Department of Regional
Development and Roads Service in relation to the Committee’s key conclusions and
recommendations.

Main Findings

Registration & Inspection of Road Openings

  • A comprehensive street works register is essential to the exercise of proper control over road openings. Roads Service has established a register but there is evidence that the information on it has not always been comprehensive and timely.
  • A robust and effective inspection process is vital to ensure utilities carry out reinstatement to the required standard. Roads Service undertakes a large sample of inspections but there are some areas where they are not strictly complying with the Inspection Code of Practice.
  • It is important that utilities carry out the necessary remedial works where faulty reinstatements are identified through the inspection process. The level of follow-up by Roads Service on defects is low and therefore it is not possible for it to determine if utilities are carrying out appropriate remedial works. Roads Service has initiated a number of changes to its computerised street works register to provide reports on defects not promptly responded to by utilities.
  • Roads Service has increased the size of the coring sample it uses to assess the quality of utilities’ reinstatements. The current sample may not provide a robust estimate of the reinstatement defect rate for individual utilities or facilitate comparison across Divisions.

Improving the quality of reinstatement and measuring performance

  • Roads Service’s ultimate aim is to reduce utilities’ coring failure rate to 10 per cent. Although it has made significant progress in lowering the defect rate for all utilities - from 35 per cent in 2002, to 14 per cent at September 2007 - it is still above the target.
  • The former Water Service (now Northern Ireland Water) has a current coring failure rate of 19 per cent (September 2007). This remains the highest of all the utilities. There are also concerns about its late notification of road openings and high levels of emergency and urgent notifications on street works. Roads Service has pointed out that Water Service has to be given credit for recent developments in the way it undertakes reinstatement work which have resulted in less dig, less congestion and less reinstatements.
  • In the absence of national indicators, Roads Service is still not in a position to benchmark its performance with GB. We have  highlighted a number of opportunities open to Roads Service which would help it enhance performance measurement.
  • New legislation was introduced in February 2007 which will permit fines and charges to be imposed on utilities who fail to comply with reinstatement standards, but it will be 2009 before the first of these becomes operational.