One for the road...a behind the scenes look

Roads may not seem like the most glamorous of topics, but it’s an area of the Council that certainly gets folk talking. 

From potholes to surface dressing, gritting to inspections – who decides what happens, where and why is one road prioritised over another? 

We’ve put some questions to our Head of Neighbourhood Services, Lorna Richardson, to get to the bottom of our roadworks. 

But, first, here’s a few facts for you: 

• Our roads network totals nearly 1,000kms 
• It's a very valuable asset with an estimated total replacement cost of more than £1,000 million. 
• Neighbourhood Services – which oversees roads – received 14% - £14.3m - from the General Fund in 2023/24, which is the Council’s pot of cash to run all services. Out of the £14.3m, around £3million was allocated to roads maintenance and repairs. 
• During our winter treatment plan, roads are categorised into priority 1, 2 and 3. 73% (721km) of our road network is currently treated as priority 1 and 2 routes. 

Maintaining Orkney’s roads 

The Council is responsible for maintaining Orkney’s roads. We do this with reactive, routine and planned works.  

• reactive - repairing defects when they appear; 
• routine - digging ditches and offlets;  
• planned - surface dressing/resurfacing. 

Road inspections 

Keeping a close eye on the state of our roads is key to managing and maintenance. 

We have three types of inspection: 

• safety inspections – these are a frequent check of all road elements such as potholes, drainage, signs, lining and street lighting; 
• service inspections – these are more detailed inspections, normally walked, and are undertaken on potential surfacing sites to prioritise which sites are included in future programmes; 
• road condition surveys – this can identify deficiencies in the road which, if untreated, are likely to adversely affect the networks long term performance and serviceability. These inspections are driven and highlight which areas would require more detailed inspections.  

How often are inspections on our roads carried out by staff? 

It varies depending on the road and can range from every month to once a year. But for strategic routes staff will usually slow drive the road every three months checking for any issues. 

Footways, cycleways and car parks are also checked, generally every six months and sea walls and retaining walls are inspected every four years, unless they are a known high risk in which case they are checked every six months. 

Any defects are listed and entered onto the programme for attention, depending on their priority from category 1 (make safe within 2 hours and permanent repair within 24 hours)) to category 5 (no response as they are not classed as safety defects). 

The frequency of inspections and the timescales for repairs are reviewed every five years and agreed by Elected Members. View the current Road Management and Maintenance Plan.

 What causes potholes? 

It's easy to assume that potholes are formed due to roads being poorly maintained but that is not usually the case. Potholes are formed by three elements: surface cracks, water and traffic. Small surface cracks form and expand over time with the action of traffic. Water then seeps through the surface of the cracked pavement, causing further deterioration – in cold climates, this can be exacerbated by freeze-thaw action.  

What can you do to try and prevent them forming in the first place?  

We’ve been trialling a new pothole patching system at the Council. The system uses 50% recycled materials and works in a way which stops water penetration and subsequently prevents the risk of potholes forming. It also provides a much tougher surface finish than other patching methods.  

In trialled areas of heavy traffic, the system is performing well so we’ll be using it to get on top of the backlog of potholes and defects – it's a much quicker process than previously which means minimal impact to the public.  

The hope is this method will save the Council and ratepayers considerable valuable time and resources/money over the long term – benefiting everyone. 

We encourage folk to report problem areas, such as potholes, to the Council as soon as you spot them. That way we can try and resolve issues before they worsen. 

It’s never been easier to do that – click on the link www.orkney.gov.uk/roads and that will take you straight to the relevant forms on the Customer Services Platform. 

If you set up a MyOrkney account https://my.orkney.gov.uk/MyServices any requests on any Council-related matter you make will be held on your customer record which allows you to view and track progress. 

How are defects on our roads prioritised? 

Whether a defect is treated, how they are categorised, and the speed and nature of response will depend on the risk posed by it. This will depend on: 

• The depth, surface area or other degree of deficiency of the defect  
• The volume, speed, and other characteristics of traffic  
• The location of the defect  
• The number of defects and their interaction  
• Forecast weather conditions, especially the potential for freezing of surface water  
• Pedestrian usage, volume, and type e.g., children, elderly etc. 

To decide the category of the defect we use a risk matrix which considers the likelihood of the defect being encountered and the impact of doing so. 

For example, imagine a 50mm deep pothole situated in the centre of a 30mph road. Although quite deep, it’s not likely to be traversed by cyclists or pedestrians. As it is in the centre of the road cars are less likely to frequently drive over it and even if they do it would be at slow speed and is not expected to cause serious injury. Therefore, this would be classed as a Category 3 priority.  

However, if the exact same defect was situated in the left-hand wheel track of the same 30mph road, it would be far more likely to be encountered by cyclists and cars. Therefore, this would be considered a Category 2.  

We also have a system for programming and prioritising large scale road maintenance such as resurfacing or surface dressing. 

It allows comparison of the overall maintenance requirement against the level of funding available and for appropriate choices to be made. 

We consider the following factors and score each on a scale of 1-5. This is done to all sections of road requiring treatment and by using a simple sum of these factors we can finalise which sites are included in upcoming programmes.  

For example, the highest scoring section of road for 2024-25 was the A966 between Lyron and Tingwall. Repairs will be undertaken later this summer.  

This was how it was scored. 

Why do you do road dressing works in the summer when the roads are far busier? 

Surface dressing can only be done in the summer as the warmer weather is needed to help the chippings bind to the bitumen. Also, it's less likely to rain, meaning the bitumen and chippings will bind to the road surface better. 

What is surface dressing and why is it needed?  

Surface dressing is a very effective surface treatment method which seals the road surface and protects against further deterioration. In sealing the road, we prevent water penetrating the deeper road structure which can lead to potholes forming. By treating the network in this way, we can also reduce the need for more costly repairs such as resurfacing. At approximately £3.90 a square metre it is a very cost-effective treatment method which enables us to treat large quantities of the road network. 

The list of roads included in this year’s programme can be found at: www.orkney.gov.uk/roadworks 

Why can’t you carry out roadworks in the quieter months? 

We know that road works can be frustrating and an inconvenience – no one enjoys having to make a detour from their regular route – or to have to wait at traffic lights, especially when that’s not the norm of living in Orkney. 

But we also must recognise that road works are important to maintain the overall quality of roads. They are not immune to wear and tear - repeated use from cars will inevitably cause roads to degrade, and roads are also subject to the daily rigours of weather. It is only through scheduled road works that the quality can be maintained. 

Resurfacing is much more effective when done in warmer weather. We are also busy gritting roads and dealing with drainage issues over the winter.  

Winter Service Plan 

Not that we want to think about the winter months just yet, but we do have a set of FAQs around our road treatments when there’s a freeze and snowy conditions. 

And we’re delighted to have a named Mainland fleet thanks to the ever-imaginative public. You may be able to spot a Gritty Buckie, Brrrrrsay, Maes Plough, Dingiesplough, Hamnasnow, St Margrits Hope, Grit Gaan or Scapa Snow doing the rounds when required this year.