Drivers are having to contend with more than three million holes in local authority roads in England and Wales, it was revealed today.
While roads suffer from about one million potholes, there are a further 2.5 million road openings made during streetworks by utility companies, a report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) found.
Potholes are a long-standing headache in the areas covered by Shropshire County Council and Telford & Wrekin Council, although both authorities have announced schemes to tackle the problem.
Telford MP David Wright recently highlighted the way in which the pothole “blight” causes danger to people, damage to vehicles and harm to the economy.
Veteran cyclist Ron Perks, from Wellington, and colleagues from a group called Last of the Summer Wine compiled a list of their 100 best potholes in Shropshire.
And the Cyclists’ Touring Club has launched a website - fillthathole.org.uk - in which users can zoom into any road in the UK, mark the location of the defect, and inform the local council which then has a duty to take action.
Today’s AIA report says there is a shortfall of more than £1 billion in highway maintenance budgets nationally and an 11-year backlog of maintenance work. The report says £53 million was paid out in compensation claims for damage to vehicles or road traffic accidents due to road structural conditions across England and Wales in 2006/07.
AIA chairman Jim Crick said: “Highways maintenance is still suffering from historically being treated as the Cinderella service.”
Kevin Clinton, of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “Good road surfaces are an essential part of the highway safety system.”
A Department for Transport spokesman said since 2002 the Government had more than trebled funding to councils for roads.
By Peter Johnson
4 Comments
What a joke Telford’s “pothole busters” is I drive round telford every day, all day and have seen them once…last week. I reckon most of those 3 million potholes are in Telford.They have no money for repairs they say, but what about the hundereds od thousands spent on un neccessary traffic lights and speed limit changes involving new sign and pointless little islands in the middle of the roads and then there’s the famous £110,000 vertical guttering.
Too right, I drive from Arleston to Hortonwood everyday and on my route there must be at least 20 holes in the road. A few pot holes were recently filled in, but they are back again already because they arent fixed properly.
I also recently had a problem with the cv joints on my car, when I took it to the garage, I was told that all the components that join the wheels needed replacing, and that my car was dangerous to drive and it cost me over £150 to repair, I cant help but think that because of the rapid deterioration of these parts that the 20 pot holes that I have to drive over twice a day are to blame.
I had a seven month old exhaust fail due to metal fatigue, caused by pot holes and speed bumps. I’m still having a go at the council over it but what will get done?….absolutely nothing!!!!