Calls for Welsh Government to commit an extra £25 million to councils for pothole repairs

Politicians have called on the Welsh Government to commit an extra £25 million to local authorities for road and pothole maintenance.

It was announced in this weeks budget that the Welsh Government will get £24.8 million in ‘Barnett Consequentials’ in 2018-19 from local roads maintenance spend in England.

Russell George AM – the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Business, Economy, and Infrastructure – has demanded that the Welsh Government commit all of that funding to local authorities so that they can fix Wales’ ‘deteriorating’ road network.

Last week the National Assembly’s Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee – which Mr George chairs – concluded that fixing potholes on Wales’ roads should be a priority over building new ones.

Responding to the announcement of extra funding, the Welsh Conservative AM said:

“Potholes and poorly maintained roads are a frustration for all of us, and unless this extra spending is specifically earmarked for councils to fix their roads and potholes, the costs will be borne by road users and taxpayers.

Trunk roads in Wales are in a better state than council roads, which is why we need to see this funding go directly to the councils themselves.

This is basic infrastructure, and the people of Wales will expect this extra funding to be spent on our deteriorating roads network.”

A Welsh Assembly’s economy, infrastructure and skills committee published a report into its inquiry on “The State of Roads in Wales”.

The 40 page report is packed with recommendations following months of evidence gathering by AM’s from expert groups.

One recommendation which catches the eye is the potential adoption of a mobile app like Boston’s ‘Street Bump.’

Volunteers in the US City of Boston have been using the Street Bump app since 2012, the crowd-sourcing project automatically collects road condition data on smartphones while they drive.

The system filters out things like manhole covers and speed bumps, if at least three people hit a dip or bump in the same spot, the system recognises it as a pothole.

The ‘real time’ data is then used to pinpoint potholes and other issues with the road surface.

The committee report recommends the Welsh Government should evaluate whether the Boston’s Street Bump could be used to improve the quality of real time data available for Wales’ road network.

According to the annual Asphalt Industry Alliance survey it’ll take 24 years and £600m to clear the backlog of carriageway repairs in Wales, with an estimated one time catch up cost per local authority of nearly £70m.

In giving evidence to the Assembly committee, Leeds University said it costs “between 17 and 19 times more to do odd fixes rather than doing planned asset management upgrading.”

Chairman of the committee, Russell George AM said:

The condition of Wales’ roads is a matter of great importance to all of us.

The road network is one of the nation’s greatest assets, worth an estimated £13.5bn, and covers over 21,000 miles.

One of the sobering aspects of this inquiry has been how many of the issues raised in previous studies remain difficult.

There is an overwhelming consensus that long term funding for local government and trunk road agencies would lead to improvements – but we remain stuck in an annual cycle.

Indeed, the lack of money and priority for repairs stands out. Without sufficient funding, the roads we have will deteriorate.”

Committee Members were mindful of how much the public talks about the state of our roads, and we were keen to enable people to contribute to this work.”