Maintaining roads to target conditions is still out of reach for local authorities in England and Wales despite an increase in highway maintenance budgets, reports this year’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey.
The ALARM survey, published today (March 31, 2021) by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), shows that the legacy of inconsistent funding in England and Wales is still preventing highway engineers from being able to provide long term, cost effective maintenance improvements for local roads.The 26th survey reports a 15 per cent increase in highway maintenance budgets which were, in part, due to additional funding from central Government, including the Pothole Fund in England, as well as supplementary pots to support changes as a result of Covid-19 needs and active travel ambitions.
However, budgets reported are still lower than they were two years ago, and road conditions have yet to see any significant improvement. This up-down approach to funding results in wasteful patch and mend repairs as local authorities have a statutory duty to maintain the highway but don’t have the scope or certainty of funding to implement more cost effective, proactive repairs.
This is borne out by the large increase in the number of potholes filled over the last 12 months in England and Wales, the equivalent of one being filled every 19 seconds. Local authorities also report that, despite the increase in budgets, target road conditions still remain out of reach. If they had enough funds to meet their own targets conditions across all road types, there could be an additional 14,400 miles of local roads in a good state of repair and another 2,000 fewer miles in need of urgent repair.
“The last year has been like no other and the ‘hidden heroes’ responsible for maintaining our local roads should be proud of the role they played working throughout the pandemic to keep our key workers and emergency services moving, supermarket shelves stocked and vaccines distributed,” said Rick Green (pictured), Chair of the AIA.“While the extra funding in 2020/21 was welcomed, using it to repeatedly fill in potholes is essentially a failure as it does nothing to improve the resilience of the network. The average frequency of road surfacing is now once every 68 years and the bill to fix the backlog of maintenance work on our local roads in England and Wales remains in excess of £10 billion.
“It is clear that a longer term approach to local road funding is needed, similar to the five-year commitment made to the strategic road network in the two Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) periods, to allow local authority highway engineers to plan ahead and implement a more proactive, sustainable and cost effective whole life approach to maintaining the network. This commitment is vital to the nation’s post-pandemic reset in which we will rely on our local road network to support recovery and underpin active travel and levelling-up goals.”
The full ALARM survey is available to download here or by visiting www.asphaltuk.org
Industry reaction:
Will Britain, President of the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG), said: “The findings of the most recent ALARM survey once again provide evidence that there must be a move to long-term funding for local roads. “Longer term planning is key to enable more efficient and effective planning and delivery.“Whilst many of our members would have welcomed the additional funding from central Government it is still not enough to maintain the long-term resilience of roads. Authorities would welcome the necessary funding required to maintain and improve the assets and networks they are responsible for. Having access to a long-term funding pot would allow them to prioritise accordingly for the benefit of all road users. “At LCRIG we will continue to play our part in encouraging innovation and collaboration amongst local authorities and the supply chain. We will also continue to lobby Government so that the work of local highway teams is recognised and reflected through funding which will subsequently ensure that road users see improved highways maintained to a standard that people expect and deserve.”
Nicholas Lyes, RAC head of roads policy, said: “The AIA’s report lays bare the pressure on local authorities who are grappling with crumbling road surfaces. On the one hand additional money allows them to fix potholes but the inconsistent nature of this funding often means they focus on short-term quick fixes rather than preventing them from occurring in the first place. Worryingly, the report estimates a £10bn one-off cost simply to get our local roads back to a reasonable state.“Potholes are a nuisance and not only cause expensive vehicle damage but can also lead to serious injury or even worse. Without a long-term approach to local road maintenance funding, similar to what we already have for strategic roads, we face our roads remaining in a perpetually poor state. The Government must now change tack and ring-fence a small proportion of existing fuel duty revenues over a five-year period so that local authorities are able to plan routine maintenance properly and get our local roads up to a fit and proper standard.”
Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at Cycling UK, said: “It’s bizarre that central Governments still seem to expect local authorities to maintain, repair and manage their local road network without the long-term funding allocated to other transport infrastructure, including the strategic road network. Most journeys are either local or start locally, and local transport needs to be prioritised by governments as COVID restrictions are relaxed. “That means long-term investment and certainty of funding, so councils can plan the repairs and improvements needed rather than just crisis managing road maintenance.”
Nick Chamberlin, British Cycling Policy Manager, said: “British Cycling welcomes the publication of the 2021 ALARM survey results, which once again highlights the need to focus attention on our local and minor road network as much as our A roads and motorways. “Poorly surfaced, potholed roads are bad for all users but they can be lethal for people cycling, and we simply must give councils the resources required to keep the roads in our towns, cities and rural communities fit for purpose. We urge the Government to consider the AIA proposal to deliver a strategic, long-term settlement to tackle the issue, helping people on bikes to feel safer and supporting the Government’s long-term Gear Change ambitions.”
Edmund King OBE, AA president, says: “The ALARM report yet again shows the perilous state of many roads blighted by potholes which can injure those on two wheels and cause expensive damage to those on four wheels. The AA has in recent years highlighted the skewing of emergency road repair funding towards restoring the condition of main roads while leaving residential and other minor roads in a poor condition.“AA members have complained that, although their journeys on the open road are usually much smoother than they used to be, they often run the gauntlet of potholes once they turn into their neighbourhoods or use minor roads to get to shops, services and in rural areas.“The decision to concentrate funding on main roads, as evidenced by Government statistics, probably makes perfect sense in being most cost-effective for protecting larger volumes of traffic. However, it concentrates drivers’ frustration and anger if they have to dodge the same potholes month after month on their residential streets or minor roads leading to the shops or other essential destinations.“Furthermore, government and councils urging more Active Travel by getting people to switch from car to bicycle doesn’t sit right with local roads riddled with potentially lethal potholes.”
Steve Spender, Chief Executive, Institute of Highway Engineers, said: “The Institute of Highway Engineers is pleased to support the important work carried out by the AIA in delivery of the annual ALARM survey.“This year’s survey once again demonstrates that despite an increase in highway maintenance budgets local authorities are still unable to provide any significant improvement in carriageway condition with the numbers of potholes being treated increasing yet again. This report highlights the need for a more long-term approach to local road funding so as to allow local authorities to develop longer term plans for maintaining the highway asset.”