State of UK roads falling – government analysis
New government analysis on the state of UK roads has revealed that about 1,500 miles of roads are in worse condition than they were a year ago.
According to statistics from local authorities, four per cent of A roads require maintenance, seven per cent of B roads and 17% of their unclassified road network.
Meanwhile, National Highways said that four per cent of motorways and seven per cent of A roads need repair.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “While the percentage of A roads that are deemed to be in the worst ‘red’ condition doesn’t appear to have got any worse, it’s concerning to see that more roads that were in reasonable ‘green’ condition have now deteriorated to ‘amber’ status.
“Unfortunately, this is also the trend with B and C roads with three per cent more of these now being categorised as ‘amber’ which means approximately 1,500 miles of road around the country are now significantly worse than they were.”
State of UK roads
“Drivers’ surveyed for this year’s RAC Report on Motoring listed the poor state of local roads as their number one motoring issue of concern. We badly need to end the decline in the condition of our local roads, so we hope the government’s new approach to highways funding will enable council to plan longer-term maintenance that finally addresses this.
“We’re very encouraged to hear the government talking about the need for preventative maintenance, such as surface dressing, as we know this is key to improving road surface conditions for the future. This way potholes will be prevented from appearing in the first place.”
