Department for Transport: One third of all local roads in England need urgent repair according to report

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An annual Department for Transport report has shown there have been no improvements to road conditions in England over two years and one-third of roads are now in urgent need of repair.

One-third of all local roads in England are now in need of urgent maintenance and repair, a report by the Department for Transport (DfT) has revealed. The data released at the end of last year analysed the conditions of roads across the country over the past two years and found that there has been no improvement.

This annual report presents information on road conditions in England, covering surface conditions, skidding resistance, highway maintenance treatments, and expenditure. Visual surveys and automated survey machines are used by Local Authorities and National Highways to monitor the condition of the road surface.

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RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “The fact there has been no discernible improvement in the state of our roads in the last two years despite having milder-than-average winters does not bode well if temperatures plunge in the next few months.

“Our research shows that the majority of drivers believe local road conditions have worsened in the last 12 months and our Pothole Index suggests drivers are around 1.5 times more likely to suffer a pothole-related breakdown than they were in 2006.”

The annual report only includes Local Authorities with valid data available. In total, 109 local authorities in England provided data for the year ending March 2022.

A report has shown that a third of local roads in England are in need of repairsA report has shown that a third of local roads in England are in need of repairs
A report has shown that a third of local roads in England are in need of repairs | AFP via Getty Images

The data also revealed that 79 per cent of local authorities reported an improvement or no change in the proportion of ‘A’ roads categorised as needing repairs or maintenance between the years ending March 2013 and 2022. According to the RAC, 60 per cent of drivers think the roads are worse than a year ago, naming road surface quality as the main issue.

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