Highway Maintenance Handbook

In recent years, highway maintenance has become a high profile topic, owning to the greater travel potential of the general public and to the impact of roadworks on commerce following the swing away from rail transport. Highway maintenance was once a low-key activity, but it is now being treated as an important consideration in the overall cost of providing the nation's infrastructure. Roads have assumed an increasingly important role in this process, particularly during the past 30 years as a result of the motorway building programme. This new edition of the popular Highway Maintenance Handbook has been thoroughly revised and updated to provide the very latest information on current regulations and technology, and concentrates on ‘general maintenance’, and area in which most money is commonly spent. The book deals with the huge and ongoing task on maintaining Britain’s vast network of roads in a safe and satisfactory condition. It gives an insight into some of the facets of highway maintenance which are either currently being practised or are under developments, to aid both the engineer engaged in the discipline and those needing to know more about this field. Vastly increased volumes of road traffic and constraints on local authority expenditure have intensified the need to find efficient and cost-effective methods of looking after our roads. This well illustrated book provides a lucid commentary on the wide range of methods and options that are available. Based on the various authors’ experience gained in local governments, contracting, academic research and consultancy, Highway maintenance handbook analyses both concrete and bituminous carriageways, highlighting the advantages or problems of each while explaining the repair methods and options available, together with the structures and facilities needed for modern highways and their management.