Council maintenance of roads ‘sinks to 5-year low’

COUNCIL road maintenance has fallen to its lowest level in five years, according to research.

Only 4,144 miles of roads received any kind of treatment by local authorities in the 2022/23 financial year, RAC analysis found.

That is down 45% from the total of 7,510 miles five years earlier.

The research found that the total length of A roads maintained fell by 37%, with a 46% drop for minor roads.

Looking at specific types of maintenance, resurfacing fell by 22%, while preservation treatments such as surface dressing were down 50%.

More than a third (35%) of councils including City of Bristol, Sefton and Tameside failed to carry out any road resurfacing work during the last financial year.

Pothole-related breakdowns have surged in recent months, with RAC figures showing they reached a five-year high in the run-up to Christmas.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “These figures lay bare just how little resurfacing and life-extending preservation work councils have managed to carry out in the last financial year.

“We suspect this means road maintenance in England has reached a new low point – a sorry state of affairs considering how car-dependent the country is.”

He added: “It’s especially concerning to see that so few miles of A roads received any form of road maintenance last year when these important routes are used by millions of drivers every day.”

“Meanwhile, our minor roads that are essential in connecting rural areas have received barely a crumb of the pie.”

Mr Williams urged local authorities to take a “traffic light” approach to road maintenance.

Darren Rodwell, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “Councils share concerns about our local roads and are working hard to try and reduce the current £14 billion road repairs backlog.”