Drivers to face enormous 35-mile diversion ahead of Bank Holiday Weekend as potholes cause road closure
POTHOLES are costing the economy an estimated £14billion, a report says.
Douglas McWilliams, the report author, said: “Potholes waste drivers’ time, put cyclists’ lives at risk and damage the environment.
“The government can afford to act. Why doesn’t it?”
Chris Whitwood, standing as Phil Potholes in a Rotherham local election this week, insists people are simply “fed up” with the state of the roads.
He said: “Potholes harm the British economy and it shouldn’t take a genius to realise there is a connection between investing in infrastructure and economic growth.”
A government source said: “We’re investing in the biggest ever funding increase for local road improvements, made possible by £8.3billion of reallocated HS2 funding.
“To make sure councils do a good job, we’re making them publish their completed and planned works.”
The Government previously said that £38million would be spent on improving England’s deadliest roads.
And another report said UK roads are reaching "breaking point" and that Councils expect to fill in two million potholes this year, up 43 per cent.
The Asphalt Industry Alliance says the figure is the worst since 2015 when 2.2 million tarmac craters were patched up.
The AIA says filling in more potholes means councils are not able to fix roads properly before they start to crumble.
But it adds that authorities do not have funds for repairs.
Its annual Alarm survey found that despite a 2.3 per cent rise in highway maintenance budgets, inflation means it is a cut in real terms.
It said 47 per cent of local road miles were in a good condition, 36 per cent were adequate and 17 per cent were rated poor.
Meanwhile, the repairs backlog reached a record £16.3billion, up from £14billion a year ago.