Rural roads worsened in 2004

Country lanes crumble as motorways improve, says Government

By PH Staff / Friday, 29 April 2005 / Loading comments

Got the hump over poor roads?

The government's latest road condition statistics show a shocking deterioration in the condition of Britain's 41,250 miles of country lanes. The number of defects -- such as poor surface and broken edges -- was up by about 15 per cent in 2004 on Britain's unclassified rural roads, the second biggest category in miles.

B roads -- the largest category with 44,375 miles -- shows a mild improvement, while motorways have improved most. The figures show that the number of defects fell by some 25 per cent. The Department of Transport said it carries out visual checks as well as structural surveys on the major road network.

According to the report, the amount spent on road maintenance has risen in the period 1999 to 2004 from around £2billion to over £2.5billion. If true, then it's starting to pay off in terms of fewer defects. But imagine how much better it would have been if the money raised by speed cameras was used to improve the roads instead of buying more pointless devices.