17 per cent of roads in ‘poor’ condition, ALARM survey finds

The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey (ALARM) has found that 17 per cent of roads are in ‘poor’ condition.

The survey indicated that although the funding gap narrowed last year between what local highway teams received and what they actually needed to repair and maintain roads, authorities were still £730 million short.

The Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) currently recommends that roads should be resurfaced between every 10-20 years, however, the average frequency for road repair is every 55 years.

Cllr Judith Blake, Transport spokesperson at the Local Government Association, said: "It is becoming increasingly urgent to address the roads crisis we face as a nation. Our roads are deteriorating at a faster rate than can be repaired and it would take more than £12 billion and be 2030 before we could bring them up to scratch and clear the current roads repair backlog. 

"Local authorities fixed a pothole every 19 seconds again last year despite significant budget reductions leaving them with less to spend on fixing our crumbling roads. Councils are proving remarkably efficient in how they use this diminishing funding pot but they remain trapped in a frustrating cycle that will only ever leave them able to patch up our deteriorating roads.

"Councils share the frustration of motorists having to drive on roads that are often inadequate. Our polling has shown that 83 per cent of those polled would support a small amount of the billions paid to the Treasury each year in fuel duty being reinvested to help councils bring our roads up to scratch.”

Alan Mackenzie, chairman of the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), commented: “Prolonged under investment, coupled with wetter winters, increased traffic and an ageing network, means that the resilience of our local roads is at a low point. Clearing the maintenance backlog is impossible without a significant increase in funding.

“The fact remains that our local road network receives only a fraction of the funding allocated to the Strategic Road Network (SRN) and this disparity needs to be tackled proactively if further decline is to be prevented.

“Reallocating a few pence from existing fuel duty might prove an equitable way of turning the tide, as could previous calls for Vehicle Excise Duty to be redirected to local roads from 2021.

Responding to the figures, the Department for Transport said: "It is vital councils keep our roads in a good condition to deliver better journeys for drivers.

"We are providing councils more than £6 billion over six years to maintain roads and repair potholes. On top of this, we announced last autumn an additional £1.1 billion to upgrade and repair roads for communities across England."