Highways management
Unlike most authorities, Portsmouth City Council has a 25-year agreement to maintain the city’s road network.
The contract covers the majority of roads in Portsmouth. This means that Portsmouth’s roads are in a better condition than many other areas and have held up well to things like severe winter weather in recent years.
You can report issues to us online. Information on how we manage maintenance of the roads, street lights and drainage is available on this page.
Roads, pavements, cycleways
Colas is responsible for inspecting the main roads and pavements in and out of Portsmouth every month (apart from the main A27/M27 which is looked after by Highways England).
Residential roads are inspected every six months. Any problems, such as potholes and trip hazards, are prioritised and repaired.
Colas is also responsible for trees, bushes, weeds and grass verges on the roads it manages.
Street lighting
Colas looks after around 16,500 street lights on the council owned roads. These are inspected every two weeks in winter and every four weeks in summer. Repairs or bulb replacements are then carried out within a week.
If you’re aware of an issue with street lights please report a problem with a street light online.
Roadworks and diversions
Colas is responsible for organising roadworks in Portsmouth and works with us to make sure any impact on traffic and residents is minimised. This can be done by restricting working hours to avoid peak traffic times or seeing if work near schools can be done during school holidays.
Advanced warning signs are placed at the location of any planned major roadworks 10-14 days before the start of the work. Diversion signs are then put out on the day the work starts.
Drainage
Colas manages a rolling two-year programme to clean all drains on the roads it is responsible for. This ensures they are free-flowing. In addition Colas attend to any customer enquiries where a drain may be blocked or smelly.
If you’re aware of an issue with drainage please report a problem with a drain online.
Extreme weather
There are a number of plans in place to deal with extreme weather events. The priority is to ensure the main roads and footways across the city are clear and safe. Colas stores around 950 tonnes of salt at a depot in Farlington to ensure it’s ready for heavy snowfall.
Find out more about how we deal with snow and ice on the roads.
Street cleaning
Colas staff sweep and litter pick around 8,000 routes on Portsmouth roads every week. Work is timed so cleaning is done the day after bin collections.
Any instances of fly-tipping are dealt with by the council.
You can report rubbish on the road or pavement and fly tipping.
Street furniture
All items of ‘street furniture’ in Portsmouth such as litter bins, dog bins, road signs and benches are inspected on a monthly or six-monthly basis depending on their locations. Any repairs are then prioritised and carried.
