ALARM Survey 2023: The maintenance backlog hits record £14bn

21/03/2023 | DOMINIC BROWNE

The local roads maintenance backlog in England and Wales has hit a record £14bn, an increase of 11%.

After punishing levels of inflation this year, the shortfall between current carriageway funding levels and what is needed to prevent further decline, jumped by 20% - roughly the level of inflation many argue the highways sector has recently faced – to reach £1.3bn in 2022/2023.

Authorities said this year they only received around two-thirds of the amount they say they would have needed to maintain their network to their own targets.

Highway departments estimate it would now take 11 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state, even if adequate funding and resources were in place.

And while preventative maintenance such as resurfacing is estimated to be 20 times more cost effective per square metre than reactive work, such as patching and filling potholes, the average surfacing frequency across all types of road is now astonishingly every 116 years.

Record-breaking bad news

Both the overall backlog and the funding shortfall represent the most challenging results ever reported in 28 years of successive ALARM surveys – the annual local authority roads maintenance report from the Asphalt Industry Alliance. This year 75% of authorities responsible for local roads across England and Wales responded.

Average highway maintenance budgets across England and Wales increased by 4.5% to £25.8m per authority this year, but due to rising inflation this represents a cut in real terms. On top of this, the average percentage of highway maintenance budget allocated to the carriageway – rather than other assets such as signage, street lighting or drainage - dropped slightly to 50%, the lowest it has been for a decade.

The ALARM survey only monitors the carriageway maintenance - the rod surface and structure - so the total backlog is likely to be much higher, for instance, the bridge maintenance backlog is close to £6bn for Great Britain.

Despite increased average highway maintenance budgets, average carriageway maintenance spending showed a small drop to £13.0m from £13.2m last year.

On top of this, a majority (53%) of authorities actually reported a cut or freeze in their highway maintenance budget, even before inflation is taken into account.

The total highway maintenance budget was £4.33bn in 2022-2023.

A change has to come

In a bleak summation, Rick Green, chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, which produces the survey, warned: ‘Without a change to the funding structure and the amount allocated, local road conditions can’t – and won’t – improve.’

Speaking to Highways he outlined some of the changes that could help rescue the state of the local network: ‘The local roads are in an absolutely shocking condition and they are getting worse. They are getting close to really problematic conditions and hopefully, politicians will decide to allocate more funding to local roads.

‘The AIA is currently developing a paper alongside the All Party Parliamentary Group [for Better Roads] and we are calling for ringfencing of money for carriageways. If we can’t have more money some ringfencing would definitely be a better solution as well as a longer-term settlement for the spending. So, if we don’t have more money at least we know what we have so we can plan it better.’

Almost all responses to this year’s ALARM survey indicated that at least five years should be considered as the optimal term (five years: 61%; 10 years: 35%) for the funding horizon.

While the 2021 October Spending Review allocated local highways maintenance funding between tax years 2022 and 2025, many have argued that given current levels of inflation the frozen funding levels have made things worse.

‘If we do have a longer-term budget, they definitely need to be somehow [price] index linked. Gas was going up 100% day on day at one stage.’ Mr Green said.

‘At the minute we have nothing [to help with inflation]. The local authorities build inflation into contracts but it is not built into their government funding. At the moment National Highways take account of inflation in their indices on a monthly basis for their contractors, which is a real change for them.’

Mr Green argued that it would be a ‘massive step forward’ if the inflation factors used in contracts in the industry were reflected in national funding settlements.

Declining structures, increasing costs

The carriageway maintenance ‘backlog’ one-time catch-up cost is an average of £106.0m per authority in England (up 6%); £36.3m in London (up 45%) and £35.0m in Wales (up 20%).

As a result of the maintenance issues, the total amount paid in compensation claims, including staffing costs to deal with claims, hit £22.7 m across England, London and Wales, up 14% on last year. This is the equivalent of £110.23 paid out each year per mile of road.

Over the last year, ALARM reports that 1.4m potholes were filled – down from 1.7m last year. Overall, £93.7m was spent filling potholes in 2022/23 and the total spent over the last 10 years is more than £1bn.

The survey also revealed that structural conditions continued to decline with 8,000 fewer miles of roads classed as structurally ‘good’, also known as 'green' than reported last year, with a corresponding increase in those classed as amber (showing some deterioration).

‘Roads classed as red (poor overall condition) have remained stable with one in every 9 miles (11%) of the local road network in England and Wales likely to require maintenance in the next 12 months. This equates to around 22,600 miles or almost the entire way around the world,’ the ALARM survey found.

‘The ideal profile of the local road network in England and Wales would be: 72% green, 21% amber and 7% red.

‘Responses show that this ideal remains well out of reach with English authorities reporting 61% green, 28% amber and 11% red; London authorities 61% green, 25% amber and 14% red; and Welsh authorities 62% green, 31 amber and 7% red,’ the report stated.

The good news

Noticeable progress was made over the last year in lowering carbon across a range of areas - despite only 10% of respondents having a quantified target to reduce the carbon footprint resulting from the procurement of road materials.

The use of warm mix asphalts (WMAs), which can reduce carbon emissions and improve efficiencies on highway projects, saw a major increase.

The report found 82% of respondents now include WMA on their asphalt specification list up from 60% in 2021/22: and, of those not currently including it, 83% are looking to adopt it in the future.

Around 71% of respondents are now promoting more efficient working to reduce emissions, up from 66% since last year.

In addition, more than a third of newly-laid asphalt materials over the last year were explicitly specified to include recycled materials such as recycled aggregates and reclaimed asphalt.

Highways InProfile

latest magazine issue
Highways jobs

Flood Risk Engineering and Strategy Officer

£49,764 - £55,623
In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce Coventry, West Midlands
Recruiter: Coventry City Council

Senior Integrated Transport Officer

£34,324 - £37,529
Are you an experienced transport planning professional ready to influence strategic policy and drive real change Matlock, Derbyshire
Recruiter: Derbyshire County Council

Street Cleansing Operative

£25,584.00 to £27,269.00, Grade 5
An opportunity exists in the Council’s Street Scene Services for a Street Cleansing Operative Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recruiter: Wakefield Council

Highways Gully Operative

£25,584.00 to £27,269.00, Grade 5
Are you a hard-working looking for career in highway maintenance? Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recruiter: Wakefield Council

Roadworker Trainee LGV Driver (3 Posts)

Grade 6 £25,183 - £25,638 per annum (Pay award pending)
We’re looking for Roadworker/trainee LGV drivers to be part of our team undertaking major highway, bridge and related construction and reconstruction Derbyshire
Recruiter: Derbyshire County Council

Highways Operative - WMF3003e

£27,711 - £28,624
We are looking to recruit Highways Operatives to our Highways Service. Kendal, Cumbria
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Engineer

£44,430 - £51,663
This post is within the Highways Design and Delivery Team. London (Greater)
Recruiter: Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

Highways Policy and Procedures Officer - WMF3011e

£37,035 - £37,938
This is an exciting opportunity to support the Asset Manager in developing policies and procedures Cumbria / Various
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Highway Maintenance Bridge Engineer

Band G, SCP 32 -37 (£41,511 - £46,731 per annum)
We have an exciting opportunity available within the Highways Service at Sandwell Council House based in Oldbury. Sandwell, West Midlands
Recruiter: Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

Civil Enforcement Officer - WMF3013e

£27,711 -£28,624
Are you seeking an active and challenging role, part of a friendly and welcoming team? Cumbria / Various
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

RCHW Site Operative - Dovercourt Recycling Centre

Up to £25081.00 per annum
RCHW Site Operative - Dovercourt Recycling CentreFixed Term, Full Time£25,081 per annumLocation
Recruiter: Essex County Council

Highways Maintenance Manager

£49,764 - £53,817 per annum
We are looking for an experienced co-ordinator to join the team as a Highways Maintenance Manager Skipton, North Yorkshire
Recruiter: North Yorkshire Council

Civil Enforcement Officer

£25,183 - £26,409
Are you looking for a role that allows you to earn whilst been outdoors across the district of North Yorkshire? Whitby, North Yorkshire
Recruiter: North Yorkshire Council

Civil Enforcement Officer

£25,183 - £26,409
Are you looking for a role that allows you to earn whilst been outdoors across the district of North Yorkshire? Northallerton, North Yorkshire
Recruiter: North Yorkshire Council

Senior Street Cleansing Technician (CDC)

Grade 6, £25,175 - £25,983 (Pay award pending) + 6% AIA
We are about to embark on an ambitious programme of change in our city centre Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Recruiter: City Of Doncaster Council

Highways Improvement Manager

£49,764 - £53,817 per annum
Would you like to be part of our friendly, supportive, Highways team? Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Recruiter: North Yorkshire Council

UGO Bus Driver

Up to £25081.00 per annum
UGO Bus DriverPermanent, Part TimeUp to £25,081 per annum (full time equivalent)Location
Recruiter: Essex County Council

Highways Officer

£33,366 - £37,035 per annum
We are seeking to recruit a Highways Officer based at our Highways Office in Whitby. Whitby, North Yorkshire
Recruiter: North Yorkshire Council

Project Engineer - Forward Programmes

Grade 11 £38,629 - £41,928 per annum (Pay Award Pending)
At Derbyshire, we have been on a journey to transform the way we deliver highway services Derbyshire
Recruiter: Derbyshire County Council

Head of Highways Operations

Salary
Somerset Council
Recruiter: Somerset Council
SUBSCRIBE NOW

Latest Video

Subscribe to Highways today to ensure you keep your finger on the pulse of everything happening in the UK road network throughout the year.

SUBSCRIBE NOW