Why district's potholes mean we're all in for a bumpy ride (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Why district's potholes mean we're all in for a bumpy ride

8:29am Tuesday 2nd February 2010 in

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Local authorities are already counting the costs of crumbling roads following the worst snowfall in 30 years.

Freezing temperatures caused extensive damage to carriageways around the country and, while local authorities dip into their funds and deploy more teams to keep up with the repairs, the big question is how will those extra costs be met?

One of Britain’s biggest motoring organisations, the AA, suggests that diverting nearly two pence a litre from the fuel tax windfall generated by soaring pump prices would fund filling the UK’s potholes in 100 days.

The AA says that with the average price of petrol riding above 112p a litre, the additional cost compared to a more typical £1 a litre for this time of year is generating a VAT windfall of 1.8p a litre.

In petrol sales alone, the UK consumes 61.38m litres a day, or £1.1 million in extra VAT revenue each day.

The estimated two million potholes, costing £70 each to repair, leave a £140 million hole in council budgets that could be filled in three to four months, the AA argues.

Edmund King, AA president, says: “If nearly two pence a litre from fuel tax was diverted into a pothole fund, UK drivers would, for once, be seeing their fuel tax disappearing into a black hole they can understand.

“Potholes affect all road-users, from cyclists to bus passengers. They are a particular menace at night on dark rural roads, as often the driver is unaware of the pothole until the damage is done.”

The AA argues that emergency road maintenance funding is required to stop crumbling roads costing more in compensation and accidents. It has already set up a ‘Pothole Watch’ scheme.

The snow of February last year pushed up insurance claims for pothole damage by more than 250 per cent. If the roads are not repaired, drivers, cyclists and motorbike riders will be at risk from expensive damage and injuries.

Insurance companies will also be hit, and more claims and potential injuries will add to NHS costs.

Bradford Council estimates it has spent more than £1 million on pothole repairs after putting in extra funding, but Council leader, Councillor Kris Hopkins, says it has put in a contingency to compensate for the extra cost.

He says the AA’s suggestion is “a novel idea and worthy of further consideration”.

“Potholes are clearly very hazardous, which is why I authorised the release of £300,000 of Council funding to repair the significant number of new potholes that have appeared across Bradford district following the recent cold snap,” he says. “However, it is a very expensive business and there are 1,200 miles of roads in our district to look after. All practical and sensible sources of additional funding should be explored.”

Principal highways engineer, Andy Whelan, says it is the worst year for pothole repairs in his 27-year service with Bradford Council.

He says there are always potholes, but this year’s weather has made the problem more prolific. “As soon as the thaw came, over a week ago, we got three times as many complaints about potholes and damage on carriageways,” he says.

Coun David Sheard, Kirklees cabinet member for highways and transportation, says: “I think the idea of diverting cash is a good idea, but to think the problem can be solved with 100 days of patching is optimistic. The long-term damage to our roads will be with us for years, and will cause a resource problem as well as cash problem.”

Kirklees Council, which also looks after approximately 1,200 miles of roads, has tapped into its contingency funds to tackle pothole repairs.

Coun Sheard says releasing the funds has enabled the Council to increase the number of teams working on the repairs.

He says from initial inspections the Council estimates the cost of repair to be around £500,000. “All areas of Kirklees have been affected and it is inevitable that the Council will receive more damage claims than it has in previous years,” he says.

He says the cost of the extra potholing work would be funded from the Highways Services maintenance budget.

Mark Dobson, unit manager the of Highways department, says this is the worst pot hole issue he has witnessed. “The second-worst was last year when it snowed in February. We did a similar exercise there and were ready for it this year,” he says. “We estimate something like around 10,000 potholes were as a result of last year.”

- To report potholes in Bradford, contact Bradford Council on (01274) 431000. To report potholes in Kirklees, call Highways Customer Care on freephone 0800 7318765.

To access the AA’s Pothole Watch, visit http://zone.theaa.com/watch/ browse for drivers to upload photos and describe problem potholes.