Our Highway Network is one of our largest and most valuable publicly owned assets with a current replacement value of over £2 billion. It connects residential dwellings with businesses and places of interest for visitors which all form a vital contribution towards the social, environmental and economic well-being of Medway.
The Highway Network, through infrastructure and investment, plays a key role in both supporting our regeneration programmes and our vision of Medway becoming a leading Waterfront University City.
We have aimed to always improve our understanding of the role the Highway Network performs through capturing better data and management practices.
This is to ensure value for money, considering the extent of the Highway Network with over 800km of roads, including:
- footways and cycleways
- streetlights and illuminated signs
- bridges, retaining walls and tunnels
- drainage systems
- street furniture
- traffic signals
- signs and road markings.
Asset management is a strategic approach that seeks to optimise the value of Highway Assets over their whole service life.
We recognise that by adopting and proactively implementing an asset management-based approach to its local highway maintenance, investment can be targeted on a long-term planned basis.
This is to combat historic practices of much more expensive short-term repairs that do not aid in the whole life cost of the Highway Asset.
An asset management approach not only maximises value for money by way of ensuring informed investment decisions are made. It also manages risk and maintains the Highway Network to ensure it is safe, secure and accessible for our customers.
Documents
Highway Asset Management Policy
The Highway Asset Management Policy sets out our commitment and approach to manage and maintain our highway network.
Highway Asset Management Strategy
The Highway Asset Management Strategy defines how we'll manage our highway infrastructure including:
- roads
- footways
- structures
- drainage
- street lighting
- street furniture.
Highway Communication Plan
The Highway Communication Plan outlines how the Highways Team is committed to ensuring effective two-way communication with all its Stakeholders.
This includes engaging with and providing good quality information to identify what can be expected from an Asset Management approach.
Network Resilience Plan
The Network Resilience Plan has been developed in line with the Department for Transport (DfT) review of the resilience of the UK Transport Network to extreme weather events.
The development of our Network Resilience Plan and Network Resilience map supports our Transport Asset Management Policy and aligns with our Highway Asset Management Plan.
Through prioritisation of maintenance schemes on the resilient network, the council will aim to keep this infrastructure safe to use all year round to support a local resilient economy.
Skid Resistance Policy
The Skid Resistance Policy provides the framework for the management of skid resistance. The aim of this is to ensure that the properties of road surfaces are appropriate for their expected use
Highway Information Management Plan
The Highway Information Management Plan details how the Highway Team collects, stores and