Highways Act 1980

Recovery by highway authorities etc. of certain expenses incurred in maintaining highways

59 Recovery of expenses due to extraordinary traffic

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, where it appears to the highway authority for a highway maintainable at the public expense, by a certificate of their proper officer, that having regard to the average expense of maintaining the highway or other similar highways in the neighbourhood extraordinary expenses have been or will be incurred by the authority in maintaining the highway by reason of the damage caused by excessive weight passing along the highway, or other extraordinary traffic thereon, the highway authority may recover from any person (" the operator") by or in consequence of whose order the traffic has been conducted the excess expenses.

(2) In subsection (1) above " the excess expenses " means such expenses as may be proved to the satisfaction of the court having cognizance of the case to have been or to be likely to be incurred by the highway authority by reason of the damage arising from the extraordinary traffic; and for the purposes of that subsection the expenses incurred by a highway authority in maintaining a highway are (without prejudice to the application of this section to a by-pass provided under this Act for use in connection with a cattle-grid) to be taken to include expenses incurred by them in maintaining a cattle-grid provided for the highway under this Act.

(3) If before traffic which may cause such damage commences the operator admits liability in respect of such traffic, then—

(a) the operator and the highway authority may agree for the payment by the operator to the highway authority of a sum by way of a composition of such liability, or

(b) either party may require that the sum to be so paid shall be determined by arbitration ;

and where a sum has been so agreed or determined the operator is liable to pay that sum to the highway authority and is not liable to proceedings for the recovery of the excess expenses under subsection (1) above.

(4) Any sums recoverable under this section are recoverable in the High Court or, if the claim does not exceed £500, in the county court in the district in which the highway or any part of it is situated.

(5) Proceedings for the recovery of any sums under this section shall be commenced within 12 months from the time at which the damage has been done or, where the damage is the consequence of any particular building contract or work extending over a long period, not later than 6 months from the date of completion of the contract or work.

(6) In the application of this section to highways for which the Minister is the highway authority the words " by a certificate of their proper officer" in subsection (1) are to be omitted.

60 Liability of certain persons for cost of use of alternative route where highway closed by reason of their works

(1) Where by reason of undertakers' works (other than works for purposes of a railway undertaking or a tramway undertaking) the use of a highway is restricted or prohibited under section 12 of the [1967 c. 76.] Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967, or under any other enactment, and the traffic restricted or prohibited uses as an alternative route a highway of a lower classification, the person executing the works shall pay to the highway authority (if the latter highway is a highway maintainable at the public expense) or to the street managers (if it is not) an amount equal to any cost reasonably incurred by the authority or managers of—

(a) strengthening the latter highway, in so far as the strengthening is done with a view to, and is necessary for, the use of it by the traffic in question; or

(b) making good any damage to the latter highway occurring in consequence of the use of it by the traffic in question.

(2) The reference in subsection (1) above to works for purposes of a railway undertaking or a tramway undertaking includes a reference to works executed primarily for those purposes but for other purposes also.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) above the order of classification of highways, from higher to lower, is to be taken to be the following, that is to say, trunk roads, classified roads and highways that are neither trunk roads nor classified roads.

(4) If, in relation to a claim for a payment under subsection (1) above, any question arises—

(a) whether the cost in respect of which the claim is made was in fact incurred,

(b) whether such cost was incurred in such circumstances or in respect of such works, as are mentioned in subsection (1) above,

(c) as to the amount of such cost, or

(d) whether such cost was reasonably incurred,

the question is to be determined by a single arbitrator appointed, in default of agreement between the parties concerned, by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

(5) In this section "railway", "street managers", "tramway" and "undertakers' works" have the same meanings respectively as in the [1950 c. 39.] Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950.