Transport Insights

The launch of the Structures Fund today comes with the usual mix of hype and a lack of detail, with the continued failure to confirm that the fund has dedicated funding again strengthening doubts that it actually exists.

From the fanfare that the Department for Transport has given the fund in a press release headed “fixing the foundations”, you would think it has solved the problem:

Government is backing councils across England to fix crumbling bridges, failing flyovers and deteriorating tunnels as the new Structures Fund opens today in the latest move to back drivers.

Decades of neglected infrastructure have led to weight-restricted crossings adding miles to everyday journeys and deteriorating flyovers, leaving communities unsure when the next closure will come. The new fund will put money directly into the hands of councils to tackle the most pressing cases they cannot afford to fix alone.

The fund is now open for bids and will inject cash into repairing critical structures across England, ensuring transport infrastructure is more resilient to extreme weather, while making everyday journeys safer, smoother and more dependable.

The phrase “across England” – used twice – is typical PR language to make it look as if the funding will be universal, where as we are very much back to the bad old days of competitive bidding, with the reality being that money will be put into the hands of *some* councils and some journeys will improve.

Always happy to go along with the hype, transport secretary Heidi Alexander is reported to have said:

Councils have known what needs fixing for years but simply haven’t had the resources to act. We’re changing that, making sure structures are repaired properly, so people can live in properly connected communities.

Again, while she uses the phrase “making sure” to imply universality, only some structures are going to be repaired.

How many? Well, the DfT still won’t say how much money is in the fund and is still using same the formulation from nearly a year ago:

Part of a £1 billion package to enhance England’s road network

So, with the money for structures being shared with local roads upgrades in proportions that the DfT has refused to disclosed, I go back to the question of whether a fund that does not have dedicated funding can really be called a fund.

And the Redbridge Causeway and the Northam Rail Bridge are being refurbished under the existing Major Road Network funding stream.

The DfT also announced:

To help councils put forward the strongest possible proposals, the government has appointed consultants WSP to provide free guidance and hands-on support to all applicants, from reviewing cost estimates to helping develop delivery plans.

One sector insider has questioned the need for this and in particular what expertise WSP has that councils do not already have, what leadership, guidance and systems the DfT is offering to help WSP that is not being offered to councils, and why the scheme cannot be industry led, given the expertise in the UK Bridges Board and the ADEPT National Bridges Group (part of its Engineering Board).

Unfortunately, despite having “worked closely with DfT since the fund was first announced to help shape something fit for purpose for local authorities”, James Bailey, chair of ADEPT’s Engineering Board, doesn’t seem to have realised that the money for available structures will be an even smaller step than it has been made to look:

The scale of the challenge should not be underestimated. The maintenance backlog across England’s local authority bridges is significant and runs far in excess of the £1 billion available through this fund. The Structures Fund is an important and welcome step, but it is the beginning of addressing a backlog that has built up over many years.