Today (10 June) CIHT Chief Executive, Sue Percy CBE, appeared on BBC Breakfast to discuss the condition of England's roads.

Percy warned that greater traffic volumes, heavier vehicles, changes to the climate and backlogs in maintenance are contributing to the deterioration of England’s roads.

The BBC article ‘What can this pothole tell us about the state of UK roads?’ is available to read here.

Most local authorities need to do patch repairs of potholes due to funding constraints, making repairs more expensive as opposed to repairs made during prior planned maintenance.

Sue highlighted how the longevity of pothole repairs depends on the quality of the patching and a variety of other conditions.

She also told the BBC how longer term funding certainty for highways maintenance enables local authorities to properly plan repairs and maintenance, enabling savings over a five year period, which could be reinvested back into the highways network.

New technologies could also be adopted by local authorities to predict areas of the road most likely to need maintenance and repairs and new materials such as graphene, are being used to improve highway surfaces.

Watch Sue’s appearance on BBC Breakfast here (1:22:43)

CIHT looks forward to continuing to work with the UK Government, Department for Transport, local authorities, and other stakeholders to work towards ensuring that Britain’s roads are fit for purpose and fit for the future.