A third of all car journeys are delayed by road works, with the number of unfinished council maintenance projects climbing by a fifth – research reveals.
A Freedom of Information request sent by LV= Road Rescue has found that while each council spent an average of £6m on road maintenance in the past year, more than half of motorists feel the condition of roads is declining.
The amount of unfinished road maintenance projects in each local authority district has also risen by 21% since last year, with Scotland’s Argyll and Bute Council seeing the highest number of outstanding projects (837).
It was found 33% of all car journeys in Britain are now affected by a road maintenance project.
A separate FOI sent to the Highways Agency found the number of projects completed on motorways and major A-roads rose last year on 2013.
John O’Roarke, Managing Director of LV= Road Rescue, said: ‘It is extremely difficult for local authorities to maintain the quality of the country’s roads without affecting the flow of traffic.
‘Leaving the engine running for long periods of time can be harmful to a car’s components, so if motorists find themselves stuck in stationary traffic for more than a minute, they should switch off the engine so it doesn’t overheat and cause unnecessary damage to the car.’
