Pothole crisis: 24,000 miles of roads in need of urgent repairs
Risk of carriageway closures as councils face £556m annual funding shortfall
Up to 12% of local roads in England and Wales could close within 12 months if urgent repair works aren’t carried out, a new study warns.
The report, published by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), reveals that 24,496 miles of roads are in need of essential maintenance within the next 12 months. But councils are facing a total funding shortfall of £556m for the repairs - around £3.3m for each local authority.
Roads have deteriorated at a faster rate than usual recently as a result of the wintery weather that has swept across the UK over the past month.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Although the Government says it is investing £6bn into repairing the UK’s deteriorating highways, the AIA argues that it is difficult for local authorities to carry out long-term repairs due to “inconsistencies in allocated budgets”, Autocar reports.
Even if councils were funded more effectively, the AIA believes it would take 14 years to get every road “back into a reasonable steady state”, at a total cost of £9.3bn.
Responding to the report, the RAC’s road policy chief, Nicholas Lyes, said: “This latest report clearly highlights that the shortfall between what councils need to fix the roads, and the cash they actually have at their disposal, is as enormous as ever.”
Lyes said that deteriorating road surfaces affect every road user, leading to “increasingly uncomfortable, expensive and, in some cases, downright dangerous journeys”.
According to Metro, poorly maintained road surfaces have been a factor in the deaths of 22 cyclists and 368 serious injuries since 2007.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The history of Donald Trump's election conspiracy theories
The Explainer How the 2024 Republican nominee has consistently stoked baseless fears of a stolen election
By David Faris Published
-
Two ancient cities have been discovered along the Silk Road
Under the radar The discovery changed what was known about the old trade route
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticals
Speed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
By The Week Staff Published
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunion
Speed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Turning down her smut setting’: how Nigella Lawson is cleaning up her recipes
Speed Read Last week, the TV cook announced she was axing the word ‘slut’ from her recipe for Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly
By The Week Staff Published