3.2. Sustainability of road infrastructure

A wisely planned network of roads supports a country’s economy and contributes to people’s welfare. The lifetime of a road is long and has several steps:

Many topics can be audited based on this scheme. For example, how the road network in the country is planned (are there enough roads or maybe even too many) or how effective the government’s actions are in organising the construction and renovation of roads. Procurement, supervision, etc. can also be examined, and it is possible to audit how road maintenance is organised. Even more so, auditors can examine how big the road repairs backlog is and whether eliminating the backlog is a priority established in road maintenance and repair plans. 

Audit suggestion! Take a look at this audit by the National Audit Office of Estonia, which looks at the use of European Union funds for transportation projects. In this audit, NAO-E discovered that although there is an 836-million-euro road repair backlog, the government is prioritising new road projects ahead of funding the repair of existing roads. The reasoning behind this is the availability of EU funds for new roads projects for which the government needs to find own-financing.

More and more IT systems are used also in managing and maintaining road infrastructure, e.g.  road maintenance diaries, road usage data. In audits looking at road infrastructure, auditors can also look at which IT systems are in use, which data is collected by the IT systems, the quality of the collected data and/or whether and how the data is analysed and used in decision-making processes and for offering public services. The use of IT systems can enhance the sustainability of road infrastructure management, for example, with quicker and more informed decision-making and more efficient use of resources. 

The following table shows a variety of questions that can be raised when auditing roads and how these questions relate to different aspects of sustainability.

Sustainability aspects covered by questions	Questions that can be asked when considering the sustainability of road infrastructure
Economic & social	How much does the construction of the road cost? What social benefits will the new road bring to the economy? How much does it cost to use the road (is there a toll)? For what purpose is the toll used? Does the toll cover road maintenance costs? Is the toll affordable for inhabitants? Have sufficient funds been allocated for road maintenance and renovation?
Economic & environmental	How will construction of the new road affect the surrounding environment? What kinds of materials are used for road construction/renovation? Are the materials strong enough to last? How will the road construction/renovation influence the wildlife in the area? Does the design include a sufficient number of wildlife crossings?
Environmental, social & economic	How many years should the new/renovated road last with proper maintenance? Has the government made the necessary decisions and arrangements to guarantee this? How is road maintenance arranged?
Economic	Has the state arranged proper supervision of the construction and maintenance of roads?

Audit example:

The following example shows the questions and criteria that can be raised during an audit of road construction and renovation.

‘Quality of renovation of the main roads of the state’ (National Audit Office of Estonia, 2013)

The main question posed in the audit was “Have the main national roads been designed and repaired in a manner that guarantees that they will last for the prescribed 15 years?” The National Audit Office of Estonia concluded that the Road Administration had no overview of how long constructed and renovated roads last. The audit found no solid evidence one way or the other as to whether they last for 15 years, since both the Road Administration’s records and their work on preparing and performing renovations on national roads were lacking. For example, they didn’t have an overview of the renovation work that had been done or whether the data on the condition of roads was correct, and there was a lack of supervision over renovations. Furthermore, the audit found that certain road construction norms in Estonia are partially outdated.

Presented below are the questions and criteria used in the audit: 

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