News reaches Cyclo that a simply jaw-dropping £10 billion may be required to fix the UK’s increasing pothole problem, with an annual shortfall somewhere in the region of a £895m on the highways maintenance budget. The disturbing figures come from the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey produced by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (for there is such a thing) and are, naturally, of concern for any cyclist that regularly runs the gauntlet.
At current maintenance levels, the average frequency for a road to be resurfaced and fully repaired is once every 65 years in England and once every 81 years for Wales. Yes, you read that correctly.
As a potential crumb of some comfort the construction company Aggregate Industries has joined forces with the CTC – the National cyclists’ organisation, who launched their fillthathole website back in 2007 – to reward the most proactive councils. Two categories are up for grabs, one for the council with the highest percentage of potholes fixed, and a “People’s Choice” voted on by the public via the website. Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton has put her weight behind the awards too, commenting that: “I’m getting involved because anything that showcases pothole repairs and encourages councils to improve their roads has to be a good thing for both cyclists and motorists.” Pendleton also gets to meet the winning councils later this year. Lucky lady.
