The scheme, which came into effect on 11 June 2012 on the busiest parts of London's road network, is designed to encourage utility companies to avoid digging up busy roads at peak traffic times.
Before the scheme, only 30% of digging avoided peak times.
For Transport for London's (TfL's) own roadworks, 99% of roadworks are now off-peak.
In addition, all the major utility companies have signed up to the use of rapid drying materials, reducing the amount of time required to reopen roads and helping to save approximately 2,700 days of disruption across London, it is estimated.
Speaking at the first Roadworks Innovation Summit at City Hall last week, London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “Lane rental is all about using the limited road space within our streets as effectively as possible and, as we predicted, it is proving successful. Disruption is down, the vast majority of works are now done outside of peak hours and an impressive range of new-fangled techniques are now being used to minimise the impact on London's roads users.
“But more can be done; and that is why we've brought together the capital's boroughs and utility companies to consider how we can use this technology to bring 21st century knowledge to the maintenance of a road system that dates back to the Romans.”
As part of TfL's work to develop a lane rental scheme, a range of techniques to cut disruption have been developed by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), funded through revenue raised through the lane rental scheme.
These include underground mapping techniques and ‘no dig’ construction methods, new plating and bridging systems over openings in the carriageway, temporary backfill materials for trenches and the use of rapid drying materials for quicker reinstatement of the carriageway following works.
TfL chief operating officer for surface transport Garrett Emmerson said: “Our continuing work with the utility industry has already seen disruption caused by roadworks fall dramatically in recent years.
“By adopting more innovation and world-leading technologies, we can continue to reduce disruption and keep all road users on London's road network moving.”
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