News item 8 - National Road Repairs
Post date: 10-Apr-2014 15:52:09
Road Repair Bill Hits £12 Billion
It will take 12 years and £12billion to get England's roads back to reasonable condition according to the annual study by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA). This is the same estimate made at this time last year so we must presume that repairs are at a standstill with no catch-up made. In the capital London repairs have worsened with the timescale now set at 14 years!
For the second year in a row over 2,000,000 potholes have been filled in England and Wales but with the record winter rainfall questions have been raised about the repairs' effectiveness and longevity.
The AIA has urged the government to "invest to save" to prevent further shortfalls and to reduce the long-term road repair backlog. Stats show that it currently costs over 20 times more per square metre to fill a pothole than it does to resurface the road. Hence investment in better roads could actually bring very major long-term expenditure savings.
NB: Compensation claims for damage to road going vehicles caused by these terrible roads have increased in the last year by 20%. The average claim rate currently stands at 540 per local authority in England (excluding London) at a total cost of £31.6 million!