Cambridgeshire County Council has rolled out an artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced safety inspection tool across the entire county following a successful trial.
The contract between the AI software provider, Route Reports, and the council commenced on 19 February 2026 and is expected to last for just over two years, until 18 April 2028.
Valued at £102,916, it sees Route Reports provide cameras that are fitted to inspection vehicles and use AI to identify defects like potholes. Footage collected by these vehicles is then stored to be reviewed by officers to ensure all information collected is accurate.
Highways understands that this real-time road condition data is being used by the council to support longer-term investment decisions and strategies.
Now that the trial is completed, the council plans to have the technology fully integrated with its works ordering system, which it stated would increase the efficiency of day-to-day maintenance operations.
Councillor Alex Beckett, chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: ‘We're always looking at innovative and different ways to tackle potholes, whilst we know the long-term fix is to prevent potholes from forming in the first place rather than simply filling them in.
‘We're currently battling an £800m backlog in road repair across the county and need sustained investment and more help from the Government to fully bring our roads back to the state we all want.
‘That is why we're investing in highway software called ‘Route Reports', which is an AI-enhanced safety inspection tool. The new software will help our teams identify potholes earlier and more easily and efficiently, as well as providing live data on the condition of our roads. Teams can use this data to ensure defects are fixed more quickly, while also assisting customers and communities when closing out reported issues.'
The move follows a similar strategy from Surrey County Council, which is thought to be the first in the country to deploy such an AI-based inspection regime.
Full contract details can be found here.
