Beast from the East’s legacy is potholes, warns RAC
Breakdowns double after snow and ice cause roads to crumble, as drivers told problem could last for years
THE Beast from the East has left behind a legacy of potholes on UK roads, the RAC has warned. Figures relating to pothole breakdowns have doubled following last week’s widespread snow and ice, according to the RAC.
Water froze in road cracks when the weather system struck, causing surfaces to crumble and causing fresh potholes to appear.
Simon Williams, an RAC spokesman, said: “While the snow caused serious short-term travel disruption, motorists will sadly be suffering its consequences for months and possibly years to come.
“Our roads were already in a poor state of repair before the extreme cold weather hit. Siberian weather was the last thing they needed as the freezing conditions wreak havoc with any road surface in bad repair. We fear this spring may see the emergence of almost as many potholes as daffodils.”
The RAC received an average of 218 call-outs for pothole-related issues, including damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels, between Sunday and Tuesday. This is compared with 104 from Feb 1 to March 3.
According to the Local Government Association, councils are fixing a pothole every 19 seconds despite funding pressures. Edmund King, the AA president, added that the figures represented the “tragic toll” English weather had taken on UK roads.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We know road surfaces are a concern for all road users and that is why we are providing local highway authorities in England, with just under £6billion to help improve the condition of our local highway networks.
“We are also giving local authorities a record £296million through the pothole action fund – that’s enough to fix just under six million potholes. This includes an additional £46million as announced in December last year, to help councils repair potholes that may have formed over this winter season.”
But roads have continued to be battered once again this week as the Pest from the West wreaked havoc on Britain’s roads on Thursday morning. The heavy snowfall caused significant disruption in West Yorkshire after the Met Office warned the worst-hit areas could see four inches of snow. There were several reports of snow-related bus accidents both in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, where a vehicle skidded on ice and hit a wall, and on Churwell Hill, south Leeds.
Incidents were reported across Merseyside and Greater Manchester during the morning, and some schools in the worst hit areas closed for the day.
Many complained that they thought spring would never come after the wintry weather returned, and some said the snow was “even worse than last week”.