Highways planned maintenance work

How we maintain local roads, pavements, and the wider highway network in Hull

As the Highway Authority, we are responsible for maintaining and managing the public highway network to ensure it remains safe and accessible for all users. This includes inspecting and maintaining all adopted local roads, footways, and critical infrastructure within the city boundary.

A breakdown of our key highway assets are -

• carriageways – total length 766km
• footways – total length 1,045km
• cycleways – total length 26km
• bridges and structures – 184 highway bridges or structures
• streetlights – 33,000
• illuminated traffic signs – 2,600
• drainage gullies – 77,318

Note - The A63 Castle Street is not part of the adopted highway, and the maintenance responsibilities for this road lie with National Highways.

Managing our constantly evolving highway network is highly challenging due to the diverse engineering complexities of our assets. This task is further intensified by rising traffic volumes, heavier vehicle loads and increasing environmental pressures from climate change.

To overcome these challenges and deliver best value, we continuously monitor the condition of our highway assets to target repairs where they are needed most ensuring the right maintenance treatments at used at the right time.

The total value of all highway assets that we are responsible for maintaining is just under £2billion.

Councils use road condition surveys to assess the state of their roads. The results are grouped into three categories -

• Green – the road is in good condition and no further investigation or treatment is required
• Amber – the road may need maintenance soon
• Red – the road is in poor condition and should be considered for maintenance

The published official statistics for road condition include more detail about the methodology, timing and coverage of this data.

We undertake an annual road condition assessment of all A, B and C roads as well as on our strategic U roads. This is currently undertaken in the form of a SCANNER survey (surface condition assessment for the national network of roads) which is carried out using laser-based technology.

Several parameters are measured in these surveys which are used to produce road condition indicators that are categorised into the 3 condition bands above.

Potholes and other road defects

We define a pothole as a sharp-edged depression anywhere in a carriageway where part or all the surface layers have been removed. Potholes will be risk assessed by a highway inspector, who will consider factors such as size, location and usage before deciding on whether a repair is required. 

A pothole will generally be classed as a safety defect when it is 40mm deep or greater and its length/width is 300mm or greater in any direction. 

The council’s response times for repairing potholes are determined by the risk posed and include 2-hour call outs for emergency repairs, 24 hours, 5 working days and 28 working days.

Most potholes form due to a combination of bad weather and traffic loading. Rainwater forces its way through small cracks in the road surface, weakening the layers below. This problem intensifies during inclement weather when the trapped water freezes and expands. As vehicles repeatedly drive over these weakened areas, the road surface gives way, creating potholes that grow larger over time.

We use risk-based assessments to drive highway maintenance and pothole management strategy. At the forefront is a dedicated team of seven highway inspectors who identify highway defects or potholes when undertaking routine safety inspections.

Any additional reports from public enquiries are also risk-assessed by our inspectors and actioned accordingly. Once a defect or pothole has been identified, it is scheduled for repair and resolved within an allocated timeframe.

When repairing potholes, We will prioritise permanent, first-time repairs whenever possible to eliminate the need for repeat visits. To maintain immediate road safety and meet strict service requirements, our teams may need to carry out short-term, temporary fixes. 

To maximise efficiency, lower costs, and minimise traffic disruption, maintenance crews will aim to repair as many nearby defects as possible during a single traffic management setup.

We have invested heavily in preventative maintenance treatments through our surface dressing and micro-surfacing programmes. These treatments are used to seal up road surfaces to stop rain or surface water seeping through cracks and weakening the layers below.

By utilising these treatments, we can stop potholes forming in the first place, extending the overall lifespan of our roads, reducing the need to undertake more costly and disruptive repairs in the near future. 

In 2025/26 we repaired an estimated 8,476 potholes and carried out over 84,000m2 of preventative maintenance through our surface dressing and micro-surfacing programmes.

Reporting potholes

Members of the public can report potholes and other highway defects using the Report road and pavement defects page or through our call centre on 01482 300 300. 

Emergency issues should be reported directly to our network management unit on 01482 614 834 between the hours of 8am and 5pm or to Civic Security on 01482 616 720 outside of these hours. 

The public are encouraged to provide as much information as possible including location, size and type of defect so that we can investigate and deal with it in the most appropriate and efficient way.

When a highway defect or pothole is reported, it is sent to our Highway Asset Management team to investigate. The team will aim to inspect every reported issue within 5 working days to determine if a repair is required.

The decision is guided by a risk-based assessment that evaluates factors including the size, depth, and exact location of the reported defect, as well as its potential impact on public safety.

If the issue meets our repair criteria, it will be prioritised based on risk and scheduled for repair within an allocated timeframe.

Highway maintenance spending and funding

Annual highways maintenance funding figures

Our plans for highways maintenance for 2026-2027

We have set out our planned maintenance programmes for the current financial year which include 25 major schemes on the carriageway network with various treatments specified from 40mm deep minor inlay and resurfacing to 1m deep full reconstruction.

42 preventative maintenance schemes will be delivered this year, including 12 sites on the major road network identified for surface dressing and 30 sites identified on the residential road network for micro-surfacing.

We will also be undertaking 55 major schemes on the footway network with various treatments specified including 30mm deep resurfacing / inlay, 70mm deep recycling and full depth reconstruction up to 220mm deep. The council will also be undertaking its annual slurry sealing programme which is a preventative maintenance treatment used on footways. 

• Carriageway major works - total length of network to be renewed 5km
• Preventative maintenance programmes – total length of network to be renewed 13km 
  • Surface dressing - 7km
  • Micro-surfacing - 6km
• Footway major works - total length of network to be renewed 11km
• Footway preventative maintenance - total length of network to be renewed 6km

Planned carriageway and footway works for 2026 - 2027

A list of planned maintenance schemes included in this year’s programmes can be accessed via the following links -

• major carriageway schemes
• surface dressing schemes
• micro-surfacing schemes
• footway schemes

This years footway slurry sealing programme is being finalised and is expected to be available for viewing on the website in October. 

The planned maintenance schemes included in the programmes above will be delivered in addition to the councils’ reactive maintenance repairs to potholes and other highway defects.

Our highway network is maintained using a risk-based asset management approach. Reactive repairs are identified through regular safety inspections and public reports, allowing the council to prioritise and repair defects based on the risk they pose. 

For planned maintenance and major works, the council analyses asset condition surveys, historic site reports and inspection data, and combine this information with local knowledge and Engineering judgement to prioritise those parts of the network that are in the greatest need of treatment.

When suitable, preventative maintenance treatments are preferred, as these slow down road decline and deliver long-term cost benefits by reducing the need for expensive, more disruptive repairs to be undertaken on a higher proportion of our network.

Utilising competitive tender frameworks with an emphasis on quality as well as price, improved forward planning and a commitment to embrace new and emerging technologies in both maintenance delivery and data collection help us deliver the most efficient service we can.
  
Further information on the council’s approach to highway maintenance can be accessed in our Highway Infrastructure asset management plan.

Further information regarding how we manage and maintain the highway network can be accessed in our Highway Maintenance Transparency Report – Technical Annex.