Potholes cost UK drivers £1.7 billion in 2024

Another survey by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) revealed that the cost of fully fixing the pothole-plagued local roads of England and Wales has reached a new high of almost £17bn.

The government has pledged significant funding and potholes in the UK are being filled in at a rate of one every 18 seconds – but the problem is worsening.

The AIA conducts its annual survey of local authorities in England and Wales to monitor the state of the network. It found that one-sixth of local roads – the equivalent of almost 35,000 miles – will need re-laying within five years.

David Giles, the chair of the AIA, said: “Almost all (94%) local authority highway teams reported that, in their opinion, there has been no improvement to their local network over the last year.”

The AIA’s annual local authority road maintenance (Alarm) report said local authorities would have required an extra £7.4 million each last year to prevent further deterioration, with 1.9m potholes filled in at a cost of £137.4 million.

The report calculated that £16.8 billion would now be required, as a one-off, for local authorities to bring the network up to their “ideal” conditions.

Jonathan Walker, Logistics UK's Head of Planning and Infrastructure Policy responded: “Potholes cost the UK’s economy a huge amount of money each year due to delays and vehicle damage. Logistics UK welcomes the government's increased funding for pot hole repair and maintenance but more needs to be done to tackle the issue. Long-term funding is needed to address the huge backlog in road repairs, while work on the worst routes must be delivered swiftly."

The AA president, Edmund King, said the report showed attempts to tackle the pothole epidemic were “two steps forward, three steps back”, adding: “The UK is nowhere close to getting out of this rut.”

The RAC’s head of policy, Simon Williams, said: “These figures paint a bleak picture and confirm what a majority of drivers have known for a long time – that, in far too many parts of the country, road surfaces are simply not fit for purpose. The lack of investment in our roads is a false economy as it just leads to bigger repair costs in the future – something local authorities can ill-afford.”