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Britain has been blighted by a ‘pothole crisis’ because attempted improvements to road surfacing methods have seen too much water seeping into them.
Dangerous holes, which can injure or even kill motorists and cyclists, are popping up quicker than they can be filled.
On average, 15 people every month are killed or left with life-changing injuries in a crash started by the poor state of the roads, recent figures show.
Projections indicate more than half – or 106,000 miles – of local roads will be in disrepair in 15 years time.
The poor state of roads stems from changes made in the techniques to surfacing them, with a move away from using using hot-rolled asphalt to stone mastic asphalt (SMA) starting in the 1990s.
This thin surfacing technique grew in popularity before being endorsed by the industry authority, the Highways Authorities Product Approval Scheme in 2000.
While Germany and France, who are renowned for higher road quality, use similar methods, the implementation in the UK was criticised for its haphazard approach.
SMA roads are viewed as quieter to drive on and quicker, cheaper and easier to lay.
Britain has been blighted by a ‘pothole crisis’ because attempted improvements to road surfacing methods have seen too much water seeping into them
Dangerous holes, which can injure or even kill motorists and cyclists, are popping up quicker than they can be filled.
Surface water also sprays less than on hot-rolled asphalt.
However, this means that more water ends up on the asphalt itself.
Surface laid in the UK typically contain interconnecting voids, which ‘invite water into the material’, Mike Hansford of the Road Surface Treatments Association told The Times.
Water seeps into voids and cracks and freezes in cold weather. It then expands, breaking up pieces of road which are already struggling from aging and oxidation.
Despite the high potential for water damage, poor maintenance has also been blamed for ruined roads across the country.
The M40, often voted Britain’s best motorway, was resurfaced with SMA in 2022 but is in ‘new condition’ because it is treated with Rhinophalt, which seals microcracks and voids, every five years.
Most roads have been neglected and are not treated with treatments as frequently or at all.
Last year, just three per cent or roads, and two per cent of minor roads, had preservation work carried out on them – a drop from seven per cent in the early 1990s.
Labour has pledged to fix the pothole problem and fill an extra million a year but patching them up is not a solution, according to Rod Dennis of the RAC.
Projections indicate more than half – or 106,000 miles – of local roads will be in disrepair in 15 years time.
He said: ‘We’ve been in a cycle of just patching up crumbling roads. By the time potholes are appearing, you’re already behind the game.
‘The solution lies in properly looking after the roads we have, and not letting them get into a desperate state in the first place.’
Repairing the potholes in Britain’s pockmarked roads would cost £17billion, figures show.
But the government’s current road maintenance budget is more than ten times less, at £1.6bn a year.
‘Highways are up against things like rising costs in adult and children’s social care, and they often lose that battle,’ Mr Hansford said.
