Highway maintenance: our duty and responsibilities
Our duties and responsibilities as the local highway authority.
National Highways are responsible for the M4 and the A34. West Berkshire Council (as the local highway authority) is responsible for maintaining all other 'adopted' roads and pavements in the district. An 'adopted' road is a highway that has become a public road, managed and maintained by the council. 'Unadopted' roads are privately owned and not maintained by the council.
Routine safety inspections and reports
Under the Highways Act 1980, we have a duty to maintain our local road network in a safe and usable condition. We follow national guidelines and standards by carrying out routine safety inspections on roads in our area.
If safety issues are found or reported, we will firstly assess the report. If necessary, we will aim to make these safe within 2 to 24 hours (depending on the severity of the defect) from the time we pass the repair instruction to our contractor. Temporary repairs are followed up with a permanent repair within 28 days, unless the road is due to be fully resurfaced as part of our Highway Improvement Programme in the near future.
Our pothole guidance gives more information on what we do to repair potholes in West Berkshire.
Repairs to improve road conditions
In addition to routine safety inspections, we carry out more extensive repairs to improve the condition of the local road network. These works include various surface treatments.
You can find out more about how we choose sites to repair and about planned works on our Highway Improvement Programme page. Find out more about treatment types on our renewing surfaces page.
Road emergencies
We also have a two-person emergency team in a specialist vehicle on standby 24 hours a day. They deal with issues or emergencies, such as:
- removal of fallen trees which are blocking the highway
- removal of debris following traffic accidents
- clearing oil and diesel spills
- replacing or arranging replacement of missing or broken manhole covers
- attending to knocked down street lights and bollards
- removal of dead animals
- filling or making safe dangerous potholes
If you notice an issue on the highway, please report it to us.
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