Record rise in pothole related breakdowns including across the South West
It comes as Cornwall faces a £270m backlog in road repairs and maintenance
There has been a rise in pothole problems across the South West.
Figures from the RAC show there were 483 pothole call outs across the region between January and March alone. That is the second highest number across the country.
It comes as Cornwall face a £270 million pound backlog in road repairs and maintenance.
The latest figures show highways crews fixed over 22,500 potholes across the Duchy in 2020, that works out to around 62 a day.
It was announced in February that the government has allocated £500,000,000 to local authorities across the country, with the Duchy being given £12,589,000.
Calls for more funding as Cornwall faces £270m pothole repair backlog
Cornwall is getting over £12.5 million to help fix potholes
Nationally there has apparently been a record number of pothole-related breakdowns on the UK's roads.
The RAC says the 'desperate state of UK roads' has been highlighted in its sharpest quarterly rise in pothole-related breakdowns on record after cold weather.
It says that many roads resemble the surface of the moon'' after receiving 4,694 call-outs for vehicles likely damaged by potholes between January and March.
“These figures highlight what is a genuinely ‘uncomfortable truth’ for both road users as well as local and national governments – that in many cases, the condition of many roads is now in a desperate state. Put simply, we’ve just had the largest quarterly rise in the number of pothole-related breakdowns on record. And the problem risks getting even worse as pandemic restrictions are eased and the roads get busier.
“Back in January we feared the colder winter risked causing further extensive damage to the roads, and it’s clear this is now exactly what has happened. Many drivers are finding themselves having to use roads that in places better resemble the surface of the Moon and, as our figures show, thousands are suffering from unnecessary and, no doubt, costly breakdowns caused by potholes.
“In some ways, the quieter roads brought about by national lockdowns could have been an ideal time for councils to start to fix problem road surfaces ready for the arrival of more traffic as restrictions are eased. Sadly, our data suggests this may not have been the case and may also suggest many councils are still simply patching up potholes rather than fixing them properly.
“What is undeniably clear is that all road users, whether on two-wheels or four, are paying the price for a lack of long-term maintenance for roads they use regularly. Pots of funding announced annually may help fill some potholes, but they don’t cure the problem over the long-term by dealing with underlying major surface defects. Nor do they allow local authorities to plan routine maintenance. Figures as bad as the ones we are publishing today should herald a watershed moment where authorities finally acknowledge the perilous state many roads are currently in and take decisive action to bring them up to a reasonable standard.
“The RAC has long campaigned for national government to recognise the vital role local roads play and ring-fence some funds over a five-year period to give councils the resources they need to plan and deliver longer-term road maintenance. Yet as we can see, a slightly colder than average winter leads to some roads ending up in an appalling condition with local authorities seemingly stuck in a vicious cycle where they are never able to get the roads they are responsible for up to a reasonable standard. We appeal to the Transport Secretary and the Treasury to take a fresh look at roads funding given the data we are publishing today.
“Potholes are a sign of broken roads, but they are also a sign of the broken nature of how the roads are looked after and paid for. The UK Government and local authorities must break the cycle and commit to doing something differently – if they don’t, all road users will continue to suffer unnecessarily.”
RAC head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes