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80% of Councils have reduced road maintenance budget28 Oct 2011by Emma Jamieson According to research from the RAC, 80% of Councils have experienced a drop in their roads maintenance funding over the last year. This is despite the national Government, including in Scotland when funding is devolved, setting up funds to assist Highway and Local Authorities to repair pothole-damaged road surfaces,  the result of three especially
severe winters.While 80% of Councils say that they are 'confident' that they can deal with the effects of another harsh winter, the situation is far from ideal with 89% of RAC patrolmen saying that there is evidence of underinvestment in road repairs around the country currently, even before the onset of more extreme weather conditions that will lead to a further deterioration in the state of our roads. The motorising public are equallly concerned with 92% saying that the condition of local roads is getting worse. While a half of the twenty Councils surveyed stated that they were concentrating on long-term rather than temporary repairs despite their greater cost, a fifth were prioritising temporary repairs mainly for safety reasons. However, the quality of these short-terms fixes has been limited, with 71% of RAC patrols describing them as 'inadequate'. Even the long-term fixes were seen as sub-standard by 45% of the patrols. There was evidence of the prioritisation of urban over rural roads as outlined in the words of one RAC patrolmen who commented "Large potholes on rural roads remain whilst urban roads with slight wear are being seen to first. I see a portion of an urban road outlined to be repaired and think I know of much worse road conditions that need attention sooner." It has been estimated that to fully repair our roads network would cost £9bn. Clearly, this figure will increase substantially if we have another severe winter as weather forecasters are predicting. The current economic climate and the necessary reductions in public spending have the effect that it is difficult for central Government to inject the vast sums that would be needed to fully repair our roads. As it remains the case that the taxes levied on motorists provide a lot more revenue than is invested in our transport infrastrusture, the motorist might reasonably argue that roads expenditure ought to be relatively protected from swingeing cuts in government spending, not least because of the safety ramifications and the wider effects on the economy if our roads continue to deteriorate further. Part of the problem is that while motorists are unimpressed with the poor condition of some of our roads, the public are much more interested in protecting public spending on health and education than in prioritising additonal expenditure on road repairs. If we do indeed have another harsh winter as is currently anticipated, motorists can expect to see a worsening of the state of our roads. It will likely take the Authorities several years to make good, even under optimal, if unlikely, conditions whereby we have a run of milder winters for some years to come. From a car insurance perspective, greatly increased pothole-related claims can push up the cost of cover for everyone. As premiums increase, even more will turn to price comparison services to compare car insurance quotes online. Related articles: Properly repairing our roads would cost £10bn 82% of motorists angry about rising costs and excessive potholes Pothole problems persist Only 2% see investment in roads as a Government priority Britain's 10 worst regions for road surfaces in need of repair Government announces £100m pothole repair fund for England Local authorities could be given powers to re-designate roads UK's pothole hotspots announced Scottish government provides record £15m pothole repair fund Pothole-related car insurance claims likely to soar |
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