Figures show increase in major roads meeting adequate standards
Wiltshire Council says it's extra investment is paying off
The state of major roads in Wiltshire has improved, according to figures from the Department for Transport.
In the year to March, the data shows that 71 per cent of A roads and motorways in the county were classified as green, which has risen from 67 per cent in 2018.
Cllr Nick Holder, cabinet member for transport, has said that extra investment is making “a real difference to the roads across Wiltshire”.
Local authorities classify roads as red if they should be considered for maintenance, amber if maintenance may be required soon, and green if no further work is needed.
The figures show that 25 per cent of Wiltshire roads were amber and 4 per cent were red.
In total, 342 miles of A road and 2,464 miles of B, C and unclassified roads in Wiltshire received maintenance treatment in the year to March.
Potholes are a hot topic within the council, with the Conservative cabinet often facing criticism from Liberal Democrat councillors over the deterioration of the county’s roads.
However, Cllr Holder has maintained that highway maintenance is a key priority for the council.
He said: “To achieve this, we have invested an extra £22m into Wiltshire highways – on top of the £20.7m we receive from the Government – and it is really making a difference on the county’s roads, with more resurfacing, more repairs and fewer potholes.
“For example, we have spent £1.5m so far this year on new Bobcat machines that can remove and replace large areas of road in a matter of minutes, before moving straight on to the next job.
“We continue to invest significant sums into filling and preventing potholes, replacing and extending the life of our road surfaces, preventing flooding, replacing road signs and reinstating and painting new road markings.”
Across England, a greater percentage of major roads are now in need of some level of maintenance.
The percentage of red roads has remained relatively stable, rising slightly from 3 per cent in 2018 to 4 per cent last year, but the percentage of green roads has fallen steadily, from 74 per cent to 68 per cent over the same period.
Cllr Adam Hug, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said councils already spend more on highways maintenance than their allocation from Government.
He added: “Greater long-term investment is needed if we are to reduce the £16.3 billion repair backlog and the Spending Review provides an opportunity to give councils this funding certainty.
“Councils’ highways departments also need five-yearly funding allocations, on a par with National Highways, so they can develop resurfacing programmes which prevent potholes appearing in the first place.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said the previous Government made unfunded promises on infrastructure, and it would instead secure sustainable long-term funding for councils, with further details to be announced after the next Spending Review.
They added: “For too long, this country has suffered from a pothole plague, which is why we’re investing nearly £1.6 billion for the next year alone to help fix up to a million more potholes annually.”
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “While the percentage of A roads that are deemed to be in the worst ‘red’ condition doesn’t appear to have gotten any worse, it’s concerning to see that more roads that were in reasonable ‘green’ condition have now deteriorated to ‘amber’ status.
“Unfortunately, this is also the trend with B and C roads with 3 per cent more of these now being categorised as ‘amber’ which means approximately 1,500 miles of road around the country are now significantly worse than they were.
“Drivers’ surveyed for this year’s RAC Report on Motoring listed the poor state of local roads as their number one motoring issue of concern.”