Potholes and roadworks: Brits are fed up

 Patti Smith fans by Blondin Rikard is licensed below CC BY 2. 

 The Remedy did a song about this by Chris Eason is licensed beneath CC BY 2. 

 sad eyes by hannah k is licensed below CC BY 2. 

• the condition of the roads,


• the top quality of repairs


• and the speed with which they’re carried out

Just 30% of those polled stated they had been happy, and the difficulty is worst for these in London and the South East.

 HA1-000957 by Highways Agency is licensed below CC BY 2. 

‘Ludicrous’

Pulling no punches, Margaret Hodge MP (the Public Accounts Committee chair) stated: “It appears ludicrous that in 2010 the Department (of Transport) cut road upkeep budgets by £1.2 billion over the 4 years from April 2011, but then it has intermittently given £1.1 billion extra funding on 9 separate occasions for various reasons, like in response to flooding or winter harm to the roads.

“The Division need to see that prevention is better than cure. It costs £52 to fill in a pothole, or £70 in London, yet it fees over £30 million to spend and approach compensation claims from road customers for damages arising from poor road circumstances.”

An ounce of prevention…

“there is an inadequate understanding of how diverse sorts of infrastructure deteriorate over time”

The committee has taken the Department of Transport (DoT) to process about the findings, and says it ought to “use the way it allocates its funding to incentivise efficiency and collaboration and it should not fund poor performance.”

Its report says: “A lack of information and understanding of road infrastructure and the costs of maintenance hinders selection-generating on when and exactly where it is ideal to invest the cash.”

“There are too a lot of gaps in highways authorities’ info about what road infrastructure assets they have and what condition they are in and there is an inadequate understanding of how diverse sorts of infrastructure (apart from road surfaces) deteriorate more than time. Some highways authorities have taken actions to improve their info but additional work is required.”

In a nutshell, the report says the DoT must function with local authorities to anticipate difficulties and carry out preventative work, rather than just reacting to problems soon after they happen.

• Inform us exactly where you live, and the troubles you face, in the comments below.


• Send us a pothole pic, if you can – using a glove or something comparable to give a sense of scale

Potholes and roadworks: Brits are fed up