Maintenance and repair - overview

Highway authorities are responsible for most highways in their areas, with the exception of those maintainable by the Highways Agency (motorways and trunk roads), those privately maintainable and those for which nobody has any liability to maintain. A public register is kept of all highways maintainable at the public expense.

Highways built after the Highway Act 1835 are only maintainable at the public expense if a public authority has adopted them for maintenance.

Highway authorities can delegate to each other various functions of maintenance and improvement; district councils give notice to their county council on which highways they wish to maintain. The duty to maintain is to keep the highway in reasonable condition, not to improve it. Routine maintenance requires routine inspections of the highway surface to ensure it is safe for ordinary traffic. The quality of the inspections and processes of prioritising repair is the main defence of a highway authority found liable prima facie for failure to maintain.