Survey shows roads getting much worse
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THERE was a serious deterioration in the nation's trunk and local authority roads last year — and there are forecasts of worse to come.
The structural condition of trunk roads in 1985 was "significantly worse than in 19 8 4", the ninth annual national road maintenance condition survey reports. This in turn was worse than in 1977, when the survey began.
The same story was found for principal urban roads, as well as for rural classified and unclassified roads. The survey concludes that in 1985 the general condition of roads, as measured by the visual conchtion survey, deteriorated.
Now the association of County Councils — which with the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, the London Boroughs' Association, the Association of London Authorities and lkpartment of Transport, undertakes the survey — has said that worse is to come for the nation's road users.
Resources provided by the Government are significantly below those necessary to deal with the annual growth and weight of traffic, and the ever-growing mileage of roads to be maintained, the ACC states.
Last winter's freeze will have also worsened the situation as the survey took place last summer.
The Government's defence that it is putting more money into roads, is also written off by the ACC and the Road Haulage Association.
"The increased provision made by the Government for highway maintenance of local authority roads in 1986/87 is still less than the county highway authorities were already putting," the ACC states.
The RHA says: "It is deplorable that when more than 1 billion is collected annually in motor tax, and less than 0 billion is spent on roads, the Government should allow the nation's infrastructure to fall into disrepair."