WET News

DECEMBER 2015 WET NEWS 9 I n 2012, when the government launched its £6M Highways Mainten- ance Efficiency Programme (HMEP), local transport minister Norman Baker got to the heart of the expensive irony that currently drives policy. He said: "We all know the misery that potholes can cause to highway users and local communities… We've given £3 billion to councils for road maintenance over the next four years but money can only go so far and the old adage rings true: prevention is indeed better than cure." Three billion pounds is a lot to spend to reach the commonsense conclusion that there is a clear case for preventative measures. And that is without factoring in the cost of pay-outs to motorists, which are adding to a needless waste in public spending. The RAC Foundation reckons that, even though councils only settle around a quarter of drivers' claims for pothole Prevention is better than cure • Fitting manhole covers and gully grates right first time is a priority for government and utilities. Wrekin Products is working to tackle the link between poor installation and premature failure, as Simon Gibson explains. ONSITE MaintEnanCE Councils have been given around £3bn over four years for road maintenance damage to vehicles, the average pay-out is approaching £300, adding up to £3.2M over the course of a year. However, until there is a greater understanding of what causes these issues in the first place, the authorities will continue to throw good money a–er bad. High on the list should be the selection of the most durable manhole covers, better installation and the use of well-engineered bedding mortar. Sole cause There is a huge amount of evidence to confirm that the premature failure of street ironwork is a major contributory factor in road surface damage, leading to overwhelming cost impli- cations. According to the Water Research Council (WRc) more than 70,000 foul water covers need replacement annually at a cost of around £40M. The WRc's manhole cover report CP373 observed that up to 89% of ironwork failures THE CONCEPT • UniPak is a rapid set system featuring engineered polymer packing planks that raise the sub-structure to the required level • the UniPak system and Unite manhole help improve standards and reduce costs • the UniPak system aims to achieve zero-waste • Polymer stepped wedges can be added to level ironwork during installation NEED TO KNOW 1 Road surface damage caused by the failure of manhole covers leads to increased maintenance costs and disruption to road users 2 Up to 89% of ironwork failures have suffered foundation issues 3 the average pay-out for pothole damage to vehicles is approaching £300, adding up to £3.2M over the course of a year 4 More than 70,000 foul water covers need replacement annually at a cost of around £40M. PrOjECT SPECS • Develop an integrated solution for road ironwork • address issues caused by poor foundations • Develop a training academy for best practice in highway ironwork installation THE VErDICT intensive testing and road trials were carried out to develop UniPak. Wrekin worked with customers to identify roads that suffered repeated highway ironwork failures, including Westminster in the City of London and Edinburgh's a697 arterial route. Unite manhole covers fixed with UniPak were installed in these high traffic routes achieving "universal success"

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