According to a new report, 18% of Roads in England and Wales will be undriveable in five years.
Asphalt Industry Alliance’s (AIA) Annual Local Authority Roads Maintenance (ALARM) suggests that 37,000 miles of road, equivalent to one in five roads, have less than five years of life. This is due to the poor condition that they are in from potholes; however, this can be rectified if billions of pounds are injected into the roads.
It would cost £14 billion to fix every pothole in England and Wales, which is £2 billion more than last year’s ALARM survey. The Government is aware of the problem that road users are facing. They have pledged an additional £200 million in investment, taking the new budget to £700 million, over £13 billion short of the cost needed to fix the issue.
The report places roads into three categories: good – more than 15 years of life remaining; adequate – between five and 15 years remaining; and poor – less than five years remaining.
Although more than half of the local roads in England and Wales are currently classed as good, over 100,000 miles of road will need to be rebuilt within the next 15 years.
Rich Green, chair of the AIA, said: “The findings of this year’s ALARM survey make for bleak, if not unsurprising, reading. Local roads underpin all other local services, but findings show a worsening picture in their overall conditions and the means to improve them. Resurfacing now takes place, on average, less than once every 100 years.”
He concluded: “It’s clear from the column inches and social media posts devoted to potholes that the condition of our local roads remains a key issue for the public. Materials innovation and technical advances can only go so far – they are not a silver bullet. Without a change to the funding structure and the amount allocated, local road conditions can’t – and won’t – improve.”
Learners taking automatic driving lessons in London with us have commented to our instructors about the state of the roads in London. When driving, if you encounter a pothole, you must try to avoid it as best as possible. If you have to go over one, you must do so slowly and cautiously.