Local authority highways departments only receive half the funding they need to repair roads, according to a new survey.
The 15th Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, carried out by the Asphalt Industry Alliance, heard 80% of councils say their roads were badly damaged by the winter storms.It also revealed a 40% rise in the number of potholes in local authority roads - despite 1.4m being filled across England and Wales alone in 2009. Councils in England estimate it would take a minimum of 11 years to catch up on the backlog with present rates of funding.
The survey reported the shortfall in road maintenance budgets is £1bn, while councils paid out £30m last year in compensation claims as a result of poor road condition.
Mike Linley, chairman of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, said: 'Although there has been a small increase in central government funding over recent years, it is a drop in the ocean compared to the amounts needed to stop the rot.
’Local authority highways departments don’t want to throw away millions of pounds filling potholes and paying compensation claims, they want to implement cost-effective, planned maintenance programmes which would result in safer, longer-lasting road surfaces.
'Extreme winter weather would not cause so much damage if our roads were fit for purpose in the first place. The consequences of an underfunded roads maintenance service are now writ large on our road network. These include compromised road safety and wasted time as road users are held up by unplanned road works.'
Chancellor Alistair Darling announced an additional £100M for local road repairs in the wake of the harsh winter in this week’s Budget.
Click here to the read the ALARM survey.
