UK government pledges pothole pounds

The UK government will hand out to a number of councils in England extra money for pothole repairs, said Chris Grayling, transport secretary. Around €125 million will be shared out, with the south-west county of Devon getting the lion’s share – nearly €5.2 million. The funding is in addition to €86 million Pothole Action Fund and the almost €7 billion set aside for improving local roads across the entire UK.
April 9, 2018 Read time: 3 mins
Pothole panic
The UK government will hand out to a number of councils in England extra money for pothole repairs, said Chris Grayling, transport secretary.


Around €125 million will be shared out, with the south-west county of Devon getting the lion’s share – nearly €5.2 million.

The funding is in addition to €86 million Pothole Action Fund and the almost €7 billion set aside for improving local roads across the entire UK.

The BBC reported that the government has also earmarked another €1 million would with council trials that want to trial new technology to collect data on road conditions in an attempt to identify highways at greatest risk of potholes.

The city of York started a pilot programme last winter using an electric bicycle fitted with a camera to detect potholes and other faults in cycle lanes and tracks.

The Yorkshire Post newspaper reported that York was the first in UK to become involved in the pothole spotter trial.

High-definition cameras have also been fitted on a bus, a van and a dustbin truck in York to collect data that is helping the city council fill potholes and  plan resurfacing works to help prevent such road defects developing.

The announcement of extra government money for pothole repairs comes after an annual report was published last month, claiming that more than 3,900km of roads in England and Wales will need essential maintenance within the next year.

According to the annual ALARM survey, cash-strapped local governments are reporting a gap between the funds they received and the amount they needed for repairs and maintenance was almost €639 million. This equated to an average shortfall of €3.75 million for every authority.

It would take 14 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state, but only if adequate funds and resources were available, notes the 23rd edition of the ALARM (Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance) Survey, produced by the 1360 Asphalt Industry Alliance. This is up slightly on the 12 years reported in ALARM 2017.

Since 2015, when the number of potholes filled reached record levels, almost 2.7 million, the number filled each year has been steadily declining. This trend continues, notes the report. “This is a positive move as it may reflect a shift towards more efficient whole-life asset management.”

The decrease by region is reported as: 14% in England; 21% in London and
7% in Wales. Nevertheless, potholes are symptomatic of poorly maintained roads and potential underlying structural issues.

At 1.5 million, the total number filled is equivalent to one pothole being repaired every 21 seconds in England and Wales.

Maintenance

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Improving safety for vulnerable road users
    January 2, 2013
    Dutch-style cycle safety for other European nations – Mike Woof writes A recent event held in London during October was aimed at improving safety for vulnerable road users. Called Love London go Dutch, the event was intended to highlight some of the experience from Holland in reducing risk rates for vulnerable road users such as cyclists. Similar events were held in other UK cities, while other major European cities such as Paris that are seeing an increase in cycling also have a lot to learn from Dutch exp
    Read More
  • Construction trends in North America, looking to the future
    June 10, 2019
    Exciting changes in construction will reward the aware contractor - *Jeff Winke comments Hop in a car and drive anywhere in the US and chances are the drive will be on roads and highways that need patching, resurfacing, or widening, and bridges often show signs of needed maintenance. Sadly, things are in bad shape. On the last two report cards from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the US infrastructure scored a D+. This year’s report urges the government and private sector to increase spending
    Read More
  • Lithuania plans road network revamp
    June 4, 2019
    A new plan by the Lithuanian Road Administration (LAKD) has been set out in a bid to revamp the nation’s roads. The plan will run until 2035 and includes rebuilding 400km of the country’s worst roads as a priority and unsurfaced roads will benefit from asphalt surfaces in a plan worth €1 billion. The Via Baltica route running from the Latvian border to the Polish border will be rebuilt in eight stages and is expected to cost €684 million. Improvements will also be carried out connecting capital Vilnius with
    Read More
  • New generation highways condition data collection
    February 21, 2012
    Fugro Aperio is launching its SCANNER survey service, which it says offers competitive, efficient and dynamic highways data collection to assist road agencies and local authorities in reporting to National Indicators.
    Read More

Highlighted Content