Citation

Cox BE. Transp. Res. Rec. 1977; 647: 27-29.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1977, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

As a result of a policy to cut expenditures for highway maintenance in the United Kingdom, highway authorities have had to re-examine their maintenance standards. Engineers have maintained that current standards are already inadequate and in some cases have not achieved the recommended target standards laid down as national criteria in the Marshall Report. The Report suggests standards for grass cutting on rural and urban roadsides, standards for hedge trimming, chemical sprays, and trees adjoining roads. In 1975, the Department of the Environment issued a technical memorandum describing revised and lower standards of roadside maintenance for trunk roads and motorways. A 1974 and 1976 report on roadside maintenance for the Lincolnshire County Council is presented. It is concluded that long-standing dry grass on trunk road verges presents a considerable fire risk. During the summer of 1976, there were many roadside fires, some which spread to adjoining property and all presenting traffic hazards by reducing visibility.