Transport Secretary promises new fines to force utility companies to fix roads faster

The Transport Secretary has promised new fines to force utility companies to fix roads more quickly after digging them up.

Writing in The Telegraph on Wednesday, Heidi Alexander said the Government will “put strong penalties in place for utility companies that dig up roads without a permit or run well over time”.

Gas, water, electricity and telecoms companies are currently fined £10,000 by councils for every weekday that planned roadworks overrun.

Under the Government’s new proposals, laws will be amended to impose the same fines for weekends and bank holidays.

“I know this has been the scourge of drivers up and down the country, including me,” the Transport Secretary wrote, adding: “So we will impose fines and ensure that poor quality repairs that tear up roads are no longer tolerated.”

Roads are regularly dug up by utility companies to install and repair buried pipes and cables, in projects that can last for months.

Digging trenches to access infrastructure can leave a road damaged and vulnerable to potholes, shortening its lifespan - the time before it needs resurfacing - by 17 per cent, research has found.

The Government’s crackdown on over-running works comes amid The Telegraph’s nationwide Fix Our Potholes campaign, which calls on local authorities to start fixing their roads and improve conditions for motorists, businesses and emergency services.

Share of locally-managed classified roads that should have been considered for maintenance when last assessed

Share of locally-managed classified roads that should have been considered for maintenance when last assessed

Utility companies have faced criticism over the years for letting works overrun, leading to stretches of roads being plagued with roadworks for long periods of time.

Thames Water was fined £500,000 over two years by one London council alone after more than 320 sets of works ran for longer than agreed with the authorities in Wandsworth.

Last year, National Grid faced penalties after works in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, overran by more than two weeks.

Next week, a 10-month project to replace underground electricity cables is expected to begin in Aberdeen, which will see a number of roads in the Scottish city alternately closed and restricted to traffic while new wires are installed.

Ms Alexander confirmed that as well as expanding the fines policy, more councils will have the power to impose restrictions on utility companies.

Currently, all local authorities have to apply to DfT to implement a so-called “lane rental” scheme, under which utility firms pay a daily fee of up to £2,500 for imposing roadworks on public highways.

Under her new proposals, contained in Labour’s Devolution Bill, England’s 13 larger local authorities run by mayors will be allowed to introduce these schemes autonomously.

“Lane rental” fees are kept by councils, and are supposed to be spent on transport projects in their local areas, the Department for Transport said.

It comes after the average driver in the UK lost 61 hours to traffic congestion in 2023, an increase of four hours over 2022, according to transport data company Inrix.

Last month, Telegraph analysis found that driving speeds on British motorways and major A-roads had dropped to the lowest level on record because of congestion caused by roadworks.