Road Surfacing Costs (Hansard, 9 March 1995)

§ Mr. Watts

This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Gordon Prentice. dated 8 March 1995: The Minister for Railways and Roads, Mr. John Watts MP, has asked me to write to you in reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the cost per kilometre of (a) porous asphalt and (b) conventional asphalt; and what is the life span in each case. Costs of constructing roads with porous and conventional asphalt surfacings can very significantly between contracts and are influenced by geographical location, local construction details, complexity of traffic management and associated works such as drainage. There are also differences which reflect market conditions. The costs given in the following table are of surfacing materials only and are broadly indicative bearing in mind the limited use of porous asphalt. There are additional costs for porous asphalt which are not applicable to conventional asphalt. Additional drainage is needed and more frequent salting in cold weather. Further, laying the material is more difficult and requires more extensive traffic management. These additional costs are not included in the figures given and can vary widely depending on site conditions.

Approximate £ thousand/kilometre
	Porous asphalt	Conventional asphalt
Single carriageway	50-100	35-45
2 lane dual carriageway all purpose	100-200	70-100
motorway	120-220	80-110
3 lane dual carriageway all purpose	140-260	90-130
motorway	130-290	100-150
4 lane dual carriageway motorway	190-330	120-180

Porous asphalt surfaces are not suitable for use on all roads, but providing conditions are suitable, a life of over 7 years should be possible and in some cases as long as 12 years. This is in contrast to conventional asphalt surfaces where life can range from 10 to 15 years.