The £50 million government funding given to repair potholes along the local road network in England and Wales 'will failî to restore the roads to a good condition, according to new research from the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) Survey. The report, published last month, claims that local roads across the country are bearing the brunt of underfunding, severe weather conditions and increased traffic levels that are taking their toll. The survey estimates that it would cost an eye-watering £11.8 billion in a one-off cost to get all local roads in England and Wales back into a reasonable driving condition. Alan Mackenzie, chairman, Asphalt Industry Alliance, said: 'Our roads are deteriorating at a faster rate than they can be repaired. 'The network is ageing and the cumulative effect of decades of underfunding is continuing to take its toll. 'Add in the impacts of flooding and increased traffic and you start to appreciate the scale of the problem our local authorities are facing.î Between 2015 and 2021, the Government has set aside £6bn to fund local road maintenance and claimed the additional £50m announced in the Budget 2016 would enable local councils to fill almost one million potholes. Nevertheless, the Asphalt Industry Alliance, which commissioned the ALARM Survey, says overall budgets for English highways departments have fallen by 16 per cent. The actual difference between the money highways departments receive and what they actually need to keep the carriageways in a reasonable condition has risen by almost 50 per cent, from £3.2m to £4.6m year-on-year. Peter Box, transport spokesman, Local Government Association, said the shortfall in funding was leaving councils 'trapped in a frustrating cycleî which results in them only being able to 'patch upî deteriorating roads. 'Councils share the frustration of motorists having to pay to drive on roads that are often inadequate,î added Box. David Bizley, chief engineer, RAC, believes the Government needs to act more quickly to breathe new life into the country's local roads that remain a vital cog in the wheel of the national transport infrastructure. 'It's time for the Government to recognise that local roads are a vital part of the transport infrastructure which should be brought into the scope of the Infrastructure Commission,î said Bizley. 'While the Government's Road Investment Strategy is ensuring the future 'fitness-for-purpose' of the strategic road network in England, there is a very real danger that local roads will suffer ongoing decline through insufficient investment and no long-term strategy to improve them. 'What use would it be having excellent motorways, major roads, railways, ports and airports if, when getting to or from them, you are faced with pothole-ridden local roads.î
