Scottish roads revamp would cost £1.7m

A new report by an industry watchdog, published today (Wednesday) has estimated that more than £1.7bn is needed to bring Scotland's roads up to scratch.

The report by Audit Scotland claims that a large chunk of the money would also have to be allocated to clearing a 10-year maintenance backlog.

Although Audit Scotland's findings reveal that 90% of motorways and dual carriageways were in acceptable condition, the figure falls to just 66% for A roads and 55% for B roads.

Local authorities and the Scottish Executive are being urged to produce annual reports on the roads' condition.

A total of £1.5bn is needed to bring council maintained roads up to an acceptable standard with £232m required for motorways and trunk roads, which are run by the executive.

The Accounts Commission for Scotland is responsible for securing the audit of councils.

Chairman Alastair MacNish said: "Councils need to take action to bring their roads up to standard, but there are no quick fixes to this problem.

"They need to develop long-term solutions to clear the backlog and continue to invest in structural repairs. This will prevent roads from deteriorating to the point where they are unsafe or need expensive reconstruction and will save money in the long run."