BRITAIN HAS NEARLY 20,000 MILES OF ROADWORKS

The amount of road works carried out across the country has increased over the last three years, reveals new research from breakdown provider Green Flag. In 2019, some 17,600 miles of roads were worked on, rising to 19,400 miles by the end of 2021, an increase of 10 per cent. Road works include improvements in the form of resurfacing and repairs, through to utilities digging up the road to access pipework and infrastructure.

The breakdown provider is reminding drivers to always check journeys for road closures and revised routes before travelling, especially on long trips, as unknown road works can cause havoc for unprepared motorists.

A Freedom of Information Act request to local authorities across Great Britain found that over the past three years an estimated 55,000 miles of roadworks have been carried out, accounting for over a fifth (22 per cent) of the total 246,500 miles of paved roads.

Investment in road maintenance and improving infrastructure is vital and has grown steadily across Great Britain in recent years. Motorways and A roads must be resurfaced every 10-12 years as water, sun, and air, combined with the weight of heavy traffic, causes road surfaces to deteriorate and crack.

The total investment into highways by central maintenance agencies reached £6.2 billion in 2021, up 12 per cent from £5.6 billion in 2020. This was supplemented by an estimated £3 billion spent on local council roads, at an average of £7.4 million per council over the course of 2021.

In 2021, Camden Council worked on the highest proportion of its roads, with over two fifths (44 per cent) of the total number of miles of tarmac in the London Borough having some form of road works carried out on them. This is closely followed by the Isles of Scilly (42 per cent), Reading (21 per cent), the Vale of Glamorgan (13 per cent) and Stoke on Trent (12 per cent).