10 per cent of local road network in poor condition

Under-funded local authorities report that more than 24,400 miles of road are identified as needing essential maintenance in the next year.

This year’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, released by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), revealed that local authorities in England and Wales report that the gap between the funds they received and the amount they actually needed to keep the carriageway in reasonable order was almost £556 million.

The organisations also warns that, provided adequate funds and resources were available, it would now take 14 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state.

Rick Green, chairman of the AIA, said: “Although local authorities report an increase in average highway maintenance budgets this year, looking back over the last decade they have barely kept in line with inflation. This is reflected in road condition, with one in five of our local roads now classed
as structurally poor – with less than five years’ life remaining – compared with one in six reported last year.

“Local roads are a vital asset, worth in the region of £400 billion, and they support all aspects of our daily work and home lives. But funding for their adequate maintenance has fallen short for so many years that further deterioration is inevitable. “We accept that there is no magic wand to wave, nor is there a bottomless pot of money to tap into. There are difficult choices to be made at both local and national level but the government needs to provide adequate funding for a well maintained and safe local road network if it wants to support communities and drive economic growth.”

Separately, the BBC's Shared Data Unit claims that approximately 22,990 miles across England, Wales and Scotland fell below top standard for roads, according to surveys carried out on behalf of the Department for Transport. Broken down, some three per cent of A-roads and five per cent of minor roads across England in 2016-17 were deemed to be in a poor condition, with London and the South East consistently reported as the worst performing regions of the UK.