'Potholemageddon' | Britain's roads continue to crumble amidst failing council maintenance

Road maintenance in England dropped by 45% in 2023 compared with five years ago, suggesting our roads are becoming increasingly unsafe for motorcyclists. 

The report accompanies news that road resurfacing now takes place once every 116 years on average according to the Asphalt Industry Alliance. 

Following a high volume of recent storms, motorists have been warned to be especially vigilant with average claim costs now typically demand £863 per repair. Pothole related damage is most typically associated with tyres, wheels and suspension.   

According to RAC analysis, just 764 miles of A roads were strengthened, resurfaced or preserved in 2022/23, representing a 37% decrease from work carried out in 2017/2018. For minor roads listed as B, C, and unclassified, the numbers were 3,380 in the last financial year compared to 6,288 five years before, a drop of nearly 3000 miles!   

Worryingly, just 4% of A roads maintained by councils in England were resurfaced or given life-extending preservation treatment in the last financial year, with two-thirds of road authorities reportedly undertaking no preservation work at all in the period. 

The government has pledged £8.3 billion to combat the nation’s pothole scourge as part of the Network North plan however, Alix Bedford, risk expert for Zurich UK commented: “this does not begin to touch the full cost to repair the road network and keep Britain moving in the future. 

“Many local roads are already well past their designed lifespan and continuous added pressure coupled with more extreme weather events will eventually mean that patching up potholes will no longer be sufficient”.   

Zurich claims several factors have contributed to the decay of Britain’s roads including a dramatic increase in traffic volume, worsening weather conditions and the increasing weight of vehicles.

They have called for more financial flexibility towards spending allocation, as well as a commitment to totally resurface some especially poor areas. 

“It will get to the point where roads will need to be completely resurfaced. This can be seen as an expensive option, and may cause short term disruption, but investment in the resilience of the roads network will provide longer term relief for road users” Bedford added.   

Last year’s Asphalt Industry Alliance’s annual ALARM survey made for “bleak, if not unsurprising, reading” according to AIA Chair, Rick Green. According to the yearly report, our roads are in the worst state ever, with an additional 8000 fewer miles of roads now classed as structurally ‘good’ than reported last year. 

Highway maintenance budgets in many places have been frozen, with 53% of local authorities reporting no increase in funding from the previous year and the overall budget falling short of the rising rate of inflation. 

The year saw a significant geographical inequality in budgeting, with London authorities receiving a 10% budget increase, compared to only 3.1% for the rest of England and 7.2% decrease in budget allocation for Welsh roads. 

RAC head of policy Simon Williams commented, saying: “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”. 

Williams continued: “Highways authorities need to take a ‘traffic light’ approach to road maintenance. Roads in ‘green’ and ‘amber’ conditions should undergo preventative maintenance by filling potholes and carrying out the most appropriate surface dressing treatment between April and September. Roads deemed to be in ‘red’ condition need to be fully resurfaced, or strengthened, as no amount of preventative treatment will stop them from falling apart.”