Roads across England and Wales at 'breaking point'
The rate of pothole repairs on local roads across the country has reached an eight-year high, according to a new report
Last updated 19th Mar 2024
A report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) found the rate of pothole repairs on local roads in England and Wales has reached an eight-year high, showing highways are heading towards "breaking point."
The annual Alarm survey found that local authorities expect to fix 2 million potholes in the current financial year.
That is up 43% compared with 1.4 million during the previous 12 months, and is the highest annual total since 2015/16 when 2.2 million potholes were filled in.
The AIA report said: "This indicates that local authorities, who have a statutory responsibility to keep local roads safe, don't have the funds to do so in a cost-effective, proactive way, which would allow them to carry out the appropriate maintenance interventions at the right time."
Just 47% of local road miles were rated as being in a good condition, with 36% adequate and 17% poor.
The survey found that average highway maintenance budgets increased by 2.3% in the 2023/24 financial year compared with the previous 12 months.
But the impact of rising costs due to inflation meant local authorities "effectively experienced a real-terms cut", the report warned.
Meanwhile, the amount needed to fix the backlog of local road repairs has reached a record £16.3 billion, up 16% from £14.0 billion a year ago.
People in Wigan tell us they've never seen the roads as bad as they are currently.
One man said: "I'm going to be done by the police for being a drunken driver, the way I swerve around them. Even on the M6 motorway, you can't avoid them!"
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We're taking decisive action to resurface roads and fix potholes by investing an extra £8.3 billion of reallocated HS2 funding, the biggest ever funding increase for local road improvements and enough to resurface over 5,000 miles of roads across the country.
"In addition, we have made £150 million available for local authorities right now meaning funding for most authorities has increased by almost a third compared to last year, with a further £150 million to follow in the coming financial year."