Potholes

One thing I remember vividly from a visit to Chicago some years ago was the awful state of the main highway that followed the shoreline of Lake Michigan. I thought to myself that in the UK we would never let a city road fall into such disrepair, leaving it so full of potholes.

Soon it will be US visitors who will despair at the state of British roads. Right now local roads need £9.3 billion to bring them up to scratch. The number of times the RAC has been called out for vehicle damage due to potholes increased by 11% last year, with 3,565 call-outs in just three months. With the government budgeting just £1.2bn a year towards maintenance things are set to get far worse - as the condition of a road surface worsens the damage builds up faster. Local councils need an extra £0.5bn just to keep things deteriorating further.

And things are deteriorating. 12% of local roads (a total of 24,500 miles) need essential maintenance before the end of this year. 20% will reach the end of their life in the next five years - up from 17% in 2017, and 12% in 2016. On average local roads are only resurfaced every 78 years.

Councils filled 2.7 million potholes in 2015 - last year it was only 1.5 million. Often now they will only repair potholes which are at least 4cm deep. In Bury the council has changed even that rule and only promise to 'investigate' potholes which are 4cm deep or more.

Just last month a cycle race with 550 entrants was cancelled - the organisers decided the risk of injuries due to potholes was just too high.

Roads are a very visible sign of the state of a country. Before EU funding helped Ireland to kick start its economy you would instantly know when you crossed the border from Ulster to Eire. A well-maintained road would suddenly became a crumbling pastiche of potholes. If you visit Bulgaria now you will find that the main roads are kept in good repair, but the B-roads look as though someone told an enthusiastic army of treasure hunters that there was gold under them. Driving on them is only possible at a crawl - and you still risk a puncture or worse.

How long before the UK road network is reduced to the same state?