Huge repair bill for Britain's potholes

Following one of the coldest winters in recent memory, Britain’s roads have stacked up an estimated £10 billion (€11.5 billion) repair bill just for potholes. These are caused by the freeze/thaw cycle: water seeps into cracks in the road surface, expands when frozen and then breaks up when it thaws. It has been estimated that in Britain there is at least one pothole for every 110m (sometimes many more) and that it will take at least 15 years to fix the problem.
May 15, 2012 Read time: 1 min
The coldest winter for many years has exploited Britain's roads, resulting in thousands of potholes
Following one of the coldest winters in recent memory, Britain’s roads have stacked up an estimated £10 billion (€11.5 billion) repair bill just for potholes.

These are caused by the freeze/thaw cycle: water seeps into cracks in the road surface, expands when frozen and then breaks up when it thaws.

It has been estimated that in Britain there is at least one pothole for every 110m (sometimes many more) and that it will take at least 15 years to fix the problem.

At present it is estimated that, apart from main routes such as motorways, there are some 1.6 million potholes on Britain’s 390,000km of secondary roads.

According to David Weeks, director of the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), the country’s road network is in danger of falling to “Third World” levels.

Asphalt milling, paving & compaction Materials Maintenance

Related Content

  • Macismo announces 8-year licensing deal in North America at the PPRS Paris 2015 pavement preservation and recycling summit
    February 24, 2015
    Doug Shipsey, founder and owner of Macismo International, announced an 8-year licensing agreement with Bonsal American at PPRS 2015 Paris, the pavement preservation and recycling summit. The deal will be the company’s bridgehead into the giant North American market for its innovative Macfix cold asphalt additive that allows repair material to be laid in temperatures from -10⁰C to +60⁰C. According to Shipsey, his Macfix additive is not only resistant to extreme temperature swings, it is also water resistant.
    Read More
  • Johannesburg roads require repairs and updates
    March 6, 2018
    South African city Johannesburg has a desperate need for road repairs and upgrades. Around US$1.1 billion of road repairs such as pothole filling or resurfacing work is required to bring the network back up to scratch.
    Read More
  • Colombian construction confusion considers concrete against asphalt
    January 29, 2014
    In Colombia a big debate is in hand between producers of asphalt and concrete as to which is best for building roads. Colombia has a major programme for road construction with some US$23.54 billion planned to be invested over the next 10 years. Large producers such as Holcim, Cemex and Argos, which sell most of the 11 million tonnes/year of cement consumed in Colombia are involved actively in the debate. Cement firms have estimated that the 15 road projects that are most advanced will need some 8 million to
    Read More
  • Future funding crisis looms?
    August 13, 2012
    From the UK’s Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) comes data revealing a future funding crisis many governments will face. The IFS study, commissioned by the RAC Foundation, shows that income from motoring taxation will fall as traffic volumes increase. The problem is that increasing fuel efficiency of new generation vehicles, plus the introduction of electric cars, will deliver smaller and smaller returns on fuel taxation. Although fuel is taxed heavily in the UK, and right across Europe, projections show t
    Read More

Highlighted Content