Highway Asset Management Strategy
The Highway Asset Management Strategy (HAMS) forms part of Cambridgeshire County Council's commitment to delivering:
Better, safer, and more sustainable journeys for everyone who lives, works, or travels in Cambridgeshire.
The Highway Asset Management Strategy explains how Cambridgeshire County Council looks after and maintains the highway network on behalf of residents and communities.
The highway network is much more than roads. It includes:
- Roads and carriageways
- Pavements and footways
- Cycleways
- Public rights of way
- Bridges and structures
- Drainage systems and gullies
- Traffic signals and signs
- Road markings
- Highway trees and verges
The strategy helps us decide how, when and where we invest highway maintenance funding to keep these assets safe, reliable, and sustainable.
Why do we need a strategy?
Cambridgeshire has:
- Over 4,500 kilometres of roads
- More than 2,700 kilometres of footways
- More than 3,200 kilometres of public rights of way
- Thousands of bridges, drains, signs and other highway assets
Maintaining such a large network requires careful planning and prioritisation. There is not enough funding available to repair everything at once, so we must make informed decisions that provide the greatest benefit for communities.
Our approach - prevention before repair
Traditionally, highway maintenance often focused on repairing assets after they had failed.
Our strategy puts greater emphasis on preventative maintenance. This means:
- Treating roads before serious deterioration occurs
- Extending the life of existing assets
- Reducing the number of potholes over time
- Making better use of public money
- Reducing carbon emissions associated with major reconstruction works
In simple terms, it is more effective to preserve a road in fair condition than wait until it requires complete reconstruction.
Why might a road in better condition be repaired first?
One of the most common questions residents ask is:
"Why is that road being treated when another road looks worse?"
The answer is that different maintenance treatments are used at different stages of an asset's life.
A preventative treatment applied early can:
- Cost significantly less
- Extend asset life
- Prevent future potholes
- Allow more roads to be treated within available budgets
This means some roads may receive preventative treatment before they appear to be in very poor condition.
How do we decide what work takes place?
Our decisions are based on a range of information including:
- Highway inspections
- Asset condition surveys
- Safety risk assessments
- Traffic volumes
- Network importance
- Community and member feedback
- Value for money considerations
This helps us prioritise investment fairly and consistently across the county.
Supporting safer journeys
The strategy helps us:
- Identify and repair safety defects
- Manage road safety risks
- Maintain walking and cycling routes
- Improve network reliability
- Support emergency services and public transport
Safety remains our highest priority when managing the highway network.
Supporting a greener Cambridgeshire
The Highway Asset Management Strategy also supports the Council's environmental ambitions by:
- Using more recycled materials
- Reducing waste
- Encouraging preventative maintenance
- Reducing carbon emissions from reconstruction activities
- Building a more resilient network that can better cope with extreme weather
The council is increasingly using lower-carbon materials and innovative maintenance techniques to reduce environmental impact.
Working with communities
We recognise that local communities often have valuable knowledge about their roads and transport networks.
Residents, parish councils, community groups, and elected members help us by:
- Reporting faults
- Highlighting local concerns
- Providing feedback on planned works
- Sharing information about network issues
This local knowledge complements the inspection and condition data we collect.
Frequently asked questions
To see our answers, please click the plus + sign. To close, please click the minus – sign.
Highway Asset Management Strategy documents
Please view or download the HAMS strategy documents.
Community guide
This plain-English guide summarises the detailed Highway Asset Management Strategy. It explains how we look after the highways network.
Detailed strategy (HAMS)
Highway Asset Data Strategy (HADS)
Our Highway Asset Data Strategy (HADS) outlines how data is collected, managed, and used to support the delivery of the Highway Asset Management Strategy (HAMS).
Highway Operational Standards
For reference, you can view or download our previous Highways Operational Standards (opens as PDF) outlining how we managed and maintained the highways. From Tuesday 1 September 2026 this has been replaced by the Highway Asset Management Strategy, found above on this webpage.
Highway Capital Maintenance Programme
Below is the Highway Capital Maintenance Programmes approved at the Highways and Transport Committee in both March 2025 and March 2026.
Details of the programme can also be viewed on our related webpages.
