Experts are calling on councils to protect drivers across the UK as some roads have not been repaired for more than 100 years, with drivers being warned of expensive costs associated with the lack of progress.
It's up to local authorities to repair road damage but due to lack of funding and support, many crucial roads across both England and Wales have remained untouched for decades.
Despite the funding from the failed HS2 project going into maintaining roads, this only accounted for three per cent of all council-managed roads, covering around 5,000 miles.
It is estimated that 107,000 miles of roads are fast reaching the end of their lives, with urgent care needed before it’s too late.
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It would take 10 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state
PAData from the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) Survey from the Asphalt Industry Alliance found that the 107,000 miles of roads have less than 15 years of structural life remaining.
The report estimated that it would take 10 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state, if adequate funding and resources were in place.
This breaks down as an average of 11 years in England and nine years in London and Wales.
Less than half the local road network in England and Wales is in good structural condition, equivalent to approximately 95,220 miles. This has dropped from 51 per cent in 2022 and 55 per cent in 2021.
Mike Kiely, managing director of Kiely Bros, said: “As the [survey] found that roads are only resurfaced on average once every 80 years in England, it is important that we prevent potholes from forming.
“Prevention is vital to save money on reactive maintenance and safeguard the good condition of our road network, saving additional costs for motorists and helping to stop accidents related to the condition of our roads.
“To help achieve this surface dressing is a quicker, greener and more cost-effective solution to extend the lifespan of existing road surfaces, preventing water from deforming the surface of roads and hence preventing the formation of potholes.
“We urge Local Authorities and the Government to invest in more preventative road maintenance, which would reduce the need for expensive reactive maintenance, improve our existing road network utilisation and create greener, safer journeys for all road users.”
Meanwhile, Richard Evans, head of technical services at webuyanycar stated that with more and more defective roads across the UK, many drivers and cars are at risk of damage.
The total number of potholes filled in 2023 jumped 43 per cent to two million from 1.4 million in 2022.
Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC said the findings from this report send the clearest signal yet to the Government of the critical state of so many of the roads used by millions every day.
He warned that the fact Government data shows road maintenance is actually declining at a time when the precise opposite is needed.
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More than 630,000 pothole-related incidents were dealt with by the AA last year
GETTYThe status quo is not sustainable. The longer the Government fails to grasp this reality, the bigger the eventual cost to the public purse, Williams remarked.
He said: “The scale of the problem now facing councils is truly gargantuan. Only a commitment to introducing ring-fenced roads funding for councils will get them out of this dire mess. Without it, our roads will only get worse.”
Mark Tisshaw, editor of Autocar Business, said: “The state of Britain’s roads continues to deteriorate, with potholes constituting a major risk for UK drivers.
"The consistent failure to address this problem, especially when the funds are available and not being used, shows that motorists are simply not being listened to.”
