LAs to cut road maintenance by œ100m

Local authorities will be forced to cut œ100 million from their maintenance budgets next year bringing the overall spending backlog to more than œ1 billion.

As a result of these cuts, more than 3,800 miles of 'A' roads are in need of urgent structural repair and a further 2,150 miles are due to wear out in the next four years, claims British Roads Federation director Richard Diment.

Speaking to a conference in Nottingham, Diment said that the cash crisis may lead to local authorities seeking exemption from their legal obligation to maintain every road in their area.

'At present,' he said, 'local authorities are obliged by law to properly maintain all roads in their area but because of insufficient resources this is simply not happening. Either local authorities should be given the resources to do the job or the whole maintenance strategy will need to be reviewed.'

Diment said this could mean targeting expenditure on selected routes but this would require a change in the law.

Contractors are losing work from local authorities as spending is reduced and there is uncertainty about the reorganisation of local government.

In Scotland, the Government is consulting on changes to the way road management and maintenance could favour the private sector.

This trend is expected to be developed in England and Wales and eventually result in the privatisation of the maintenance of roads.