RAC slams utility companies over road works

Utility companies may be exaggerating the duration of road works by up to 50% to avoid fines and half of their resurfacing work is not up to quality, according to the RAC Foundation.

The claims are contained the organisation's study for the Department for Transport to assess the extent of street works and in a consultation from the Scottish Executive.

As a result of the study the RAC Foundation is calling for new legislation to cut the £2bn worth of delays caused by utility companies digging up the UK’s roads. A new bill, designed to tackle street works, may be included in the Queen’s Speech later this month.

The new bill is also expected to increase the level of fines that utility companies will have to pay if they abuse their powers. The RAC said that, at the moment, many utility companies claim that their work is an emergency to avoid having it monitored by the local authority.

Current laws to control the disruption caused by holes in the road were introduced 12 years ago when only a handful of utilities existed but the increasing popularity of high speed internet and the de-regulation of gas and electricity services has meant that over 150 companies are now allowed to dig up the highway.

Scottish Executive research showed utility companies were responsible for 92% of roadworks in Scotland in 2001. Of these, only 50% of inspected roadworks were passed as of sufficient quality, the RAC said.

Edmund King, Executive Director of the RAC Foundation, said: "We need tougher legislation to act as a catalyst for better co-ordination. If the utility companies cannot be trusted to give honest estimates of the duration of their work then they should be charged from the first day they start digging up the road."

(gmcg)