Walking the walk on climate change: Highway maintenance solutions to prevent potholes, cut carbon and reduce costs

Most local authorities in the UK have declared a climate emergency. But in an age of increasing costs and restricted budgets, how can we afford to make changes in maintaining our highway assets? But as the world heats up, we cannot afford not to. Keeping our roads, cycleways and footways in good condition, and reducing costs are not mutually exclusive, as long as we consider the full suite of options available to us, outside of large-scale patching and resurfacing. We know how and why potholes form, and we know how to avoid them, but that isn't by doing what we have been doing. Experts from the industry will show us how to assess the carbon impact of each of the typical asphalt surfacing techniques, and present alternatives to cut both carbon and costs. But this is not wishful thinking – these techniques are available now but are they in your programme for 2025/26? Can the world afford for them not to be? With an additional £1.6 billion made available to improve our road networks, it's time to stop talking about it and make a change, not only to prevent potholes, but also to walk the walk on climate change.

• Prevention not cure: stopping potholes forming

• Recycle existing materials

• Encapsulate toxic tarbound materials

• Reduce waste to tip

• Refurbish footways at lower sq m rates & faster installation

• Extending asphalt pavement life

• There are a wide range of lesser-known techniques available right now

• Reducing carbon and reducing cost can go hand in hand

• Lower cost does not mean compromising quality

• We must start the journey

• The industry is ready to step it up – are you?

• Let's prevent potholes in 2025