Drivers are being forced to negotiate over 3 million holes in the roads of England and Wales, it has been revealed.
There is 30 Channel Tunnels worth of trenches being dug into the road network, according to an annual report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance.
These have increased from just over 2 million last year to nearly 2.5 million across England and Wales, averaging 16,500 trenches on every English authority’s roads.
At the same time drivers face 1 million potholes, which cost an estimated £65 million in compensation for damage to vehicles or road traffic accidents due to
road structural conditions across England (inc London) and Wales in 2006/07.
There is also a £1 billion shortfall in road maintenance budgets and an 11 year maintenance backlog, added the report.