A third (33%) of all car journeys made by British motorists are affected by roadworks, according to research carried out by LV= Road Rescue.
A freedom of information request issued by LV showed that there has also been a 21% rise in the number of outstanding roadworks per local council when compared to last year.
Of those who responded to the FOI request, Argyll and Bute Council has the highest number of outstanding road maintenance projects (837), followed by Gloucestershire County Council (734) and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (656).
Last year, councils spent an average of £6 million on road maintenance projects in their local area. But in spite of this, more than half (55%) of motorists feel that the state of the roads in their area are actually declining.
While a separate Freedom of Information request to Highways England also carried out by LV= Road Rescue showed an increase in the number of projects completed on motorways and major A-roads in 2014 compared to 2013 polling suggests that these roads are still an irritation to many drivers.
According to motorists, the M1 is Britain's most frustrating motorway for roadworks. In fact, the M1 has one of the longest ongoing roadworks projects: an improvement scheme at Junction 10a was started in October 2013 and is still not finished. The M1 was closely followed by the M6 and M25.
John O'Roarke, managing director of LV= Road Rescue, said: “It is extremely difficult for local authorities to maintain the quality of the country's roads without affecting the flow of traffic. Leaving the engine running for long periods of time can be harmful to a car's components, so if motorists find themselves stuck in stationary traffic for more than a minute, they should switch off the engine so it doesn't overheat and cause unnecessary damage to the car.”
