Potholes getting out of hand despite 29% increase in numbers repaired

Local authorities in England and Wales spent £113m on filling 2.2 million potholes, but with the complete heavy rain the entire state of the network still got worse and the spending shortfall continued to rise.

The 18th Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey was completed by 75% of councils across England and Wales. The two.2 million potholes filled was a rise of 29% on 2011, when 1.7 million potholes were filled at a value of £90m. 

Councils paid out £32m in compensation claims to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians – a 50% rise on 2011 – while the price of staff time spent on claims amounted to greater than £13m, the survey authors calculate.

Across England and Wales, local authorities estimate that £10.5bn will be had to bring their roads back into reasonable condition. One in five local roads now has a residual lifetime of lower than five years. The local road network accounts for 95% of the country’s highway network.

The survey was conducted by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), which brings together the Mineral Products Association and Refined Bitumen Association, organisations with a transparent vested interest in highway maintenance.

The AIA wants central government to introduce longer-term funding mechanisms, allowing councils to maneuver from one-year cycles of reactive work to planned, preventative maintenance programmes.

“Constantly having to patch up crumbling roads instead of using highway engineers’ skills properly, to guarantee good road condition in a planned and price effective way, is nonsensical and dear to the rustic,” said AIA chairman Alan Mackenzie.

“The Department for Transport’s Potholes Review was a welcome initiative and concluded that ‘prevention is healthier than cure’.  Once you add up all of the costs incurred by not following this recommendation, it’s hard to comprehend why central government cannot give you the chance to take a position during this much needed work and save on higher costs one day.”    

Using survey responses, the AIA has calculated that the acute rainfall of 2012 contributed £338m-worth of wear to the roads.

“Emergency funding from government is welcome, but a little bit extra here and there makes little or no difference,” said Mr Mackenzie. “The additional £215m announced within the autumn to aid improve local road condition over the subsequent couple of years doesn’t even cover the £338m of harm repair needed a result of last year’s rainfall.

“It’s time to forestall the rot. The federal government must make sufficient funding available now if you want to enable local authorities to get their roads back right into a condition which will quickly and directly boost the economy, help businesses and improve local communities.”

The full ALARM Survey 2013 can also be downloadable from http://www.asphaltuk.org/.