Local authorities can secure up to 100% of their Department for Transport (DfT) highway maintenance grant by meeting new funding criteria tied to asset management and maintenance transparency. ACO Technologies’ new guide, The Route to Resilience, explains how effective drainage and preventative actions strengthen road networks against flooding and drought while aligning with these requirements.
Flooding and drought accelerate road damage
Flood events contribute to faster road surface deterioration and increase the movement of pollutants from highways into surrounding environments. Conversely, prolonged dry periods affect ground conditions and how rainfall infiltrates, making resilience to both extremes critical in maintenance planning.
How maintenance funding links to asset management
The DfT sets four criteria for maintenance incentive funding allocation:
- Publishing a transparency report accounts for 50% of the available funding.
- Demonstrating eligible highway maintenance expenditure equal to at least 100% of the DfT grant unlocks 25%.
- Publishing an updated asset management policy and strategy releases 12.5%.
- Submitting evidence of professional development in asset management and preventative maintenance provides the final 12.5%.
Failure to publish the transparency report forfeits all incentive funding.
Drainage solutions support maintenance goals
ACO combines engineered drainage products and nature-based methods to help manage flooding and pollutant removal. Its KerbDrain system integrates kerbing and drainage, and its StormSed Vortex removes pollutants via vortex separation.
These solutions, along with swale inlets, rain garden designs, and the QuAD software for calculating drainage capacity, will be presented at Highways UK, Birmingham NEC, 14–15 October. The QuAD software assists in designing drainage systems for long-term resilience and compliance.
Practical guidance shaped by local authority experience
The guide draws on the expertise of Terry Wilkinson, ACO’s Design and Application Engineer, who has over 20 years’ experience in local authority highways teams managing maintenance budgets and drainage design.
Wilkinson says, “With new funding certainty, authorities can move beyond reactive repairs to a more resilient highway network supported by effective drainage and asset management.”
Guide availability and event details
The Route to Resilience guide is free and available in print at ACO’s Highways UK stand I19 or as a download online. The event runs on 14 and 15 October at the Birmingham NEC.
