Following the release of political party manifestos, the highways maintenance industry is urging the next government to avoid patchwork pothole repairs and focus on more preventative methods to save taxpayers money on costly reactive road maintenance.
The highways maintenance industry welcomes political parties prioritising funding for local Authorities to reduce the number of potholes across the UK.
However, they are concerned the current pledges only focus on reducing the number of existing potholes and resurfacing roads, rather than preventing potholes through cheaper road surface treatments.
Commenting on the content of political party manifestos, Mike Kiely, Managing Director of the Kiely Group, said: “We’re pleased to see so many of the political parties recognise that improving our roads is an important issue for so many people across the country.
“However every year we see more and more money being allocated to fixing potholes rather than solving the root cause of the problem.
“There is a cheaper and more effective option. Investing in road surface treatments like surface dressing to renew roads before they deteriorate is more cost-effective than fixing potholes and will prevent them from forming in the first place.
“We’re looking forward to working closely with the next government to ensure surface treatments are properly funded and delivered”.
Lyle Andrew, Executive Director at the Institute of Asphalt Technology (IAT), added: “Our members companies will welcome the additional funding for road maintenance being pledged across political party manifestos to reduce the prevalence of potholes. But money is not the only thing the industry needs to improve our roads.
“We need wider support and understanding of existing, innovative and preventative road maintenance processes, delivered at the appropriate intervention periods to ensure we deliver high-quality roads.
“It Is also vital to train and develop people within our sector to meet these challenges.”
The highways maintenance industry is calling for the next Government to support Local Authorities to choose road surface treatments as the first option to prevent the deterioration of the UK’s road network.
PIC-GOV.UK
