In a recent Sunday Times Article, ‘The town that had 2,628 potholes — and the council mended the lot’, the impressive efforts of Blackpool’s highways maintenance team have once again come to light, using Gaist data to transform their road network since 2011.
Referencing Project Amber- the operation in which the council borrowed £30 million and set to work in 2011 on a four-year programme to rebuild 40 miles of roads and 80 miles of pavements- the article highlights how the Blackpool forecast it would save £100 million in 25 years by investing in ‘early intervention’ on the road network.
Blackpool used a Gaist condition survey across their whole road network to understand its true state, assess where early intervention was required, and trust this data enough to rebuild their road network. The data was absolutely key in enabling them to realise project aims and drastically improve local roads in Blackpool.
The article goes on to say that ‘Blackpool’s local roads outstrip the rest of the country by 10 to 15 years’, added to the benefits of a reduction from ‘£1.5 million a year to settle claims’ to just ‘£719 in compensation’ last year and the significant reduced costs of planned repairs to roads as opposed to emergency pothole repair.
This shows the financial and societal benefits of having reliable and accurate condition data and the positive ripple effect it has on communities, only by equipping highways managers with the best data can the best possible outcome be achieved.
Gaist CEO Steve Birdsall commented:
‘Blackpool are Gaist’s oldest customer and it is a source of great pride that Gaist data underpinned their shift to early intervention, under the leadership of friend and former Head of Highways Will Britain’
‘that this innovative approach is finding the praise it deserves, and continues to make a real difference under current Head of Service for Highways Ian Large In the local area is testament to the team at Blackpool Council. We are thrilled to continue supporting their roads transformation long into the future’
We are currently offering sample surveys where we will survey a proportion of your road network and run a comparison against your current surveys so you can see:
1) How accurate and repeatable our 5 grade surveys actually are
2) Demonstrate the superior quality and versatility of our 360 degree imagery
3) Produce a report that will explain any change in performance indicators when you finally move to a 5 grade system
3) We will provide an analysis of how our surveys compare with your current method in accuracy, detail and cost
Get in touch to find out how we can help you transform your road network
