The RAC and the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) have today written to the Minister for the Future of Roads Lilian Greenwood calling for the Government to introduce mandatory training for councils who carry out little or no maintenance to prevent potholes forming.
At the start of Pothole Prevention Week (8-14 September), the two organisations have joined forces with a view to getting councils to understand the benefits of low-cost preventative maintenance treatments that seal the road surface from water ingress and keep them in better condition for longer.
The RSTA says many highway authorities are ignoring preventative treatments that typically could be applied from year five after a new road surface is laid to keep roads in good condition for longer. Instead, many are leaving them untreated and allowing potholes to form, before eventually having to replace the top layer of asphalt, often after 10 to 15 years, at a far greater cost.
Government road condition data analysed by the RAC shows half of local highway authorities in England did not use any form of preventative maintenance on their A roads in the 2023/24 financial year. For B, C and unclassified roads, 36% of authorities failed to carry out any of this work*. The same data illustrates a huge decline in the percentage of the overall road network receiving preventative treatments. This is further supported by figures from the Road Emulsion Association which show just 34m square metres of surface dressing was applied in 2023, compared to 64m square metres in 2012.
The reasons for councils not using preventative treatments often relate to a lack of knowledge, misconceptions and misinformation, or a historic negative experience, which has created a reluctance to use these treatments for fear of failure or reputational damage.
The reality, however, is very different. The RSTA says all treatments conform to European or British Standards or are subject to a certification scheme for use on the highway – with contractors required to be members of the National Highways Sector Scheme 13 for Surface Treatments. Furthermore, there are many case studies which demonstrate the performance and longevity of these treatments, some dating back more than 20 years, backed by independent testing and monitoring.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said:
“The ‘reactive only’ maintenance approach which so many local authorities rely on is particularly expensive, as it means only a small proportion of the road network is actually being treated. This has very clearly contributed to the situation we are in today with large volumes of potholes and roads in poor condition.”
RSTA chief executive Mike Hansford said:
“Our joint plea to the Future of Roads Minister at the start of Pothole Prevention Week is for the Government to mandate training for those local authorities not carrying out any preventative road maintenance.
“The need for comprehensive training is highlighted by the fact so many skilled and experienced engineers are retiring or leaving the sector, which means the industry is losing vital knowledge. What’s more, engineering courses often focus on the building of roads and do not cover the important role ongoing maintenance plays in protecting these most valuable of assets. At the same time, we’ve seen demand for continued professional development training on key preventative treatments, such as surface dressing and microsurfacing, reduce in recent years.
“It’s therefore very clear that there are some knowledge gaps in the sector that are leading to poor road maintenance decisions that are neither cost-effective or carbon-efficient.”
Simon Williams added: “We need to ensure the most informed decisions are being made to maximise return on the Government’s £6.4bn** capital investment in England’s major and minor roads.
“The Government has already taken on board our joint calls about preventative maintenance by asking councils to report how much of this work they have done and are planning to do. A logical next step is requiring mandatory training for authorities that have carried out little or no preventative maintenance to fully understand its benefits.
“This way we can accelerate improvements in the quality of local roads and help guarantee that the Government’s record funding is best used – resulting in safer, smoother roads for road users. More extensive training would also help bring an end to the culture of temporarily fixing potholes and resurfacing end of life roads, which is a very expensive maintenance strategy and one which leads to only a small proportion of the road network being repaired.”