AIA: Give our Highways Heroes the support they need

Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) chair Rick Green has sent a message to the sector for National Pothole Day, congratulating the 'heroes' of the roads industry and calling for more support from central government.

Mr Green said: 'The last 12 months have been challenging for those responsible for maintaining our roads.

'Quite rightly they have been described as the 'hidden heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic', as they worked tirelessly to ensure that roads played a vital role in keeping the country functioning, supporting the emergency services and enabling the distribution of food and goods at the heart of the economy.

'As we look to build back better, we need to move away from the stop/start approach to local roads investment, in particular, which has been the pattern for too long – it does little to improve overall conditions and only adds to a rising bill to put it right.

'Potholes are a symptom of an underfunded network. What’s needed is a longer-term approach to investment in effective road maintenance, which will improve the condition of our local roads and help prevent potholes from forming in the first place.'

Each year the AIA commissions an independent survey of local authority highways departments in England and Wales.

The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey – now in its 25th year – has become the industry standard and benchmark and provides detailed insight into the funding and conditions of the local road network, based on information provided directly by those responsible for its maintenance.

The 2020 ALARM report highlighted that highway maintenance budgets have dropped by an average of 16% across England and Wales – back to a level they were at 15 years ago – and the amount needed to bring the network up to scratch has increased to £11.14bn.