Skip to main content

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.

Related Content

  • Bridge savings in Scotland to fund road improvements
    August 27, 2014
    The project to construct the new Forth Crossing close to Scottish capital Edinburgh is looking extremely positive, with cost savings envisaged for the bridge. The Queensferry Crossing scheme now looks to require slightly less funding than had been originally expected when the plans were unveiled in 2011, due in part to tight controls over spending. The bridge costs had been budgeted at close to €2 billion (£1.6 billion) initially but the project now looks likely to cost €1.81 billion (£1.45 billion). The sa
  • Europe’s construction activity shows some optimistic signs
    July 10, 2012
    A cautiously optimistic report has been published by the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC), which shows activity levels continue to fall. The FIEC’s recently released annual statistical report provides a comprehensive review of construction activity in Europe and shows business levels have improved slightly in some sectors. “The EU total construction output amounted to €1,208 billion in 2011, which represents a growth of 1.4% compared to 2010”, stated FIEC vice-president Jacques Huillard, in
  • Poland's ambitious highway construction plans
    July 10, 2012
    The European football championships are among a number of things pushing Poland's ambitious highway building programme. Patrick Smith reports. Poland is planning to spend a colossal €4.57 billion on road projects in 2009, a 35% increase over the previous year. T
  • Philips CityTouch brings street lighting into focus
    December 20, 2016
    As far as 99% of any city’s population is concerned, street lights are just, well, there. But big changes are taking place, as explained by lighting systems provider Philips Lighting. Street lighting has been with us for more than a century. With the exception of the early 20th century switchover from gas to electricity and the recent most important invention of LEDs, there have been few obvious changes.