Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of potholes on motorists and local authority repair budgets.
Answered by Simon Lightwood
The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is delivering record investment of £7.3 billion over the next four years to support local authorities in maintaining their networks and tackling potholes.
Poor road conditions can result in significant costs for motorists, including damage to tyres, wheels and suspension. Industry estimates suggest that pothole-related damage costs drivers around £645 million per year across the UK, with the average repair costing around £350.
The Department has not made a single aggregate estimate of the impact of potholes on local authority repair budgets. However, industry estimates indicate that the average cost of repairing a pothole is around £80, and that reactive repairs are typically more expensive than planned maintenance. Costs can vary significantly depending on size, location, and repair method.
The Department is therefore taking measures to ensure authorities adopt a preventative, asset-management approach to highways maintenance, so that fewer potholes form in the first place and so that pothole repairs are long-lasting rather than requiring repeated short-term fixes.
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