Alarm survey shows roads in England and Wales worsen

The one-time cost of bringing roads in England and Wales up to a "reasonable" standard increased by nearly 11pc year on year to £14.02bn ($17.14bn) in 2022, the highest it has ever been, according to the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (Alarm) survey.

Published today by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), the Alarm showed the number of roads classified as 'good' dropped, those showing some deterioration increased, and those classed as 'poor' remained steady.

Average highway budgets increased by 4.5pc in England and Wales to £4.33bn, but double-digit inflation this year makes this a cut in real terms, the AIA said. Local authority highway budget shortfalls in 2022-23 were at record levels and the average one-time catch-up cost required to clear carriageway maintenance backlogs per authority was £106mn in England, including £36.3mn in London, and £35mn in Wales.

Rising costs linked to inflation mean engineers have postponed or cancelled road schemes in order to make savings. Not all local authorities saw an increase in funding, with 53pc reporting a cut or freeze in their budgets even before inflation is taken into account. Budgets allocated for highway maintenance is 51pc funded by central government, and 49pc from local authorities' own sources.

The average percentage of highway maintenance allocated to the carriageway dropped slightly to 50pc, the lowest in a decade. The average per authority carriageway maintenance budgets fell by 4.5pc in England to £16.9mn, and increased in London and Wales by 29pc and 32pc to £3.5mn and £4mn, respectively. The average shortfall in the 2022-23 carriageway budget has increased by 20pc to £7.7mn per authority, with the total shortfall in England and Wales reaching £1.3bn. This suggests local authorities in both countries only received around two-thirds of the amount they need to maintain their network to their own targets.

The survey reported the total number of potholes filled in 2022 was 1.4mn, down from 1.7mn in 2021 and the equivalent of one every 22 seconds. Spending on pothole repairs fell to £93.7mn last year from £107.4mn in 2021.

Around 51pc of the local road network is in good structural condition, with 15 or more years of life remaining, a fall of four percentane points from 2021.

UK government data show bitumen consumption of 1.6mn t in 2022, a 15pc year on year fall. UK bitumen production was 520,000t, 29pc lower than in 2021.

By Tom Woodlock