Skip to main content

Pothole patching problem for UK

In the UK severe winter conditions for the second year in succession have resulted in an increase in the number of pavement surface failures and potholes developing.
March 5, 2012 Read time: 1 min
In the UK severe winter conditions for the second year in succession have resulted in an increase in the number of pavement surface failures and potholes developing. With local authorities facing budget cuts as part of the UK Government's austerity drive to reduce debt, there is little funding left for planned road maintenance work, let alone repairing potholes. The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents local authorities in England and Wales, says that there is a shortage of some €194 million for road repairs to tackle the most recent winter damage. During 2010 some 2 million potholes were filled in England and Wales according to LGA data, however more repairs are now needed.

Related Content

  • Road maintenance crisis hits UK and US, as experts gather in Paris
    January 9, 2015
    The road maintenance crisis in the United Kingdom and the United States is deepening amid estimates that it will take millions of dollars to stop highway infrastructure from crumbling, including falling prey to potholes. A recent report by the BBC in the UK said that at least one municipal council, the city of Leeds, is facing a bill of nearly US$153 million to patch up its potholed roads. In the United States, Senator Bernie Sanders is t
  • Extra cash to fix England's winter potholes
    March 5, 2012
    Councils in England will be given more than £100 million (US$161.7 million) of extra funding to spend on repairing potholes, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has said.
  • UK: Pothole-free guarantee for five years?
    March 12, 2019
    Contractors and utilities companies in the UK could be guaranteeing roads to be pothole-free for five years, according to new proposals. At the moment, the guarantee is two years but the Department for Transport is conducting an eight-week public consultation on the subject. Street Works UK, which represents the utilities sector, argues that the an increase is not needed. The department is also seeking more innovation into how to better repair potholes, such as using asphalt with a higher bitumen c
  • UK’s embarrassing road conditions
    January 17, 2025
    The UK’s roads are a national embarrassment.