An additional 340,000 potholes could have been repaired using compensation payments made by local authorities in England and Wales, the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey has revealed.
In the past year, £93.7 million has been spent by authorities fixing more than 1.4 million potholes across the UK, with the average cost standing at £66.93. Over the same period, £22.7m in compensation was paid out to affected road users.
These costs include the £11.6m spent on payouts themselves and £11.1m spent on staff handling claims. A total of £139.9m has been spent on damage compensation since 2017.
The average lifespan (before resurfacing) of UK roads is currently 116 years, representing a 46-year increase from the 70 years estimated last year. This, coupled with the increasing average cost of filling a pothole (up £3.75 since 2022) has resulted in the worsening condition of UK roads.
Police forces across England and Wales have also recorded 1114 accidents that resulted in 16 deaths and 355 serious injuries because of “defective road surfaces”, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).
It has also been found that the cost of putting roads back into a cost-effective, manageable condition would be £14.2 billion, up £1.56bn since 2022.
A DfT spokesperson said: “We’re investing more than £5bn from 2020 to 2025 to maintain local roads, with an extra £200m announced at the Budget, which will help fix millions of potholes a year, making journeys smoother and safer for everyone.”
This comes after recent news that soaring inflation and the squeeze on council budgets are set to make a dent in the roads maintenance budget.
Thought to be most at risk is the £2.5bn repair fund pledged in 2020. Spread over five years, this fund promised councils £500m per year to spend on resurfacing roads, as well as repairing potholes and infrastructure, including bridges.