Transport Insights

Eight months after ministers announced a fund to repair and “futureproof” local authority road structures, the Department for Transport (DfT) is unable to say how much money will be in the fund or how it might operate.

The DfT has only just launched a targeted “stakeholder consultation” for its so-called “Structures Fund” just as the latest closure of a local authority road bridge was announced.

In June ministers announced £1bn “to enhance and repair run down transport infrastructure and futureproof England’s road network” to be split between the structures fund and local road upgrades under what was called the Major Road Network/Large Local Majors (MRN/LLM) programme.

But, despite claiming in a press release that it would “set out more detail about how funding will be allocated shortly”, the DfT has yet to finalise the budget for the fund, which means that funding for local authority road upgrades remains uncertain.

This paralysis explains why the DfT refused last year to tell me how much the MRN/LLM budget was.

I would argue that as the Structures Fund does not have dedicated funding, it cannot legitimately be called a fund.

I understand that officials within the DfT have argued that structures should be prioritised because the risk was higher.

On Monday the DfT invited stakeholders to respond to a survey about the structures fund. It said:

We want to benefit from your knowledge and expertise in deciding how to invest in and improve the condition of local highway structures through this fund.

The DfT set a deadline of 27 February for responses, which it said would not influence funding decisions. It said:

Following closure of the survey, we will analyse your responses and then publish the Fund’s investment criteria and detail on how local authorities can get involved as soon as possible early this year.

I’m not sure the word “early” is appropriate in the context or that the DfT will be saying anything more “early this year”. I suspect that the survey was supposed to go out last year and “next” was changed to “this” when that didn’t happen.

With the invitation to take part in the “targeted” consultation going out to a large number of recipients, it also remains unclear what conversations are taking place with formal bodies within the sector such as the UK Roads Liaison Group’s Bridges Board or Asset Management Board.

Also on Monday, Kensington and Chelsea Council said the 150-year-old Albert Bridge across the Thames had been closed to traffic as “a precautionary measure” after concerns were raised during routine maintenance.

Yesterday the council said an inspector had found that a cast iron component had cracked at one of the bridge abutments.

Council engineers and contracted bridge experts are checking all the similar components to ensure there is not any other damage and establish why the crack has occurred.