The Government spent 31 times more per mile maintaining motorways and A roads last year than it did on funding councils to repair crumbling local roads, according to LGA analysis.
Recent figures show that the Government spent £192,000 per mile on strategic roads, such as motorways or major A roads, compared with just £6,000 per mile on fixing potholes on local roads.
This is despite local roads making up 180,000 miles of the UK’s overall network, with strategic roads totalling just 4,800 miles.
Last month’s Budget included an additional £200 million for pothole repairs, which the LGA has described as ‘helpful’.
However, despite the efforts of councils, which repair a pothole every 19 seconds, the local roads repair backlog is rising, with latest estimates showing it would take more than £12 billion and 10 years to clear.
Councils have faced significant increases in carrying out road repairs because of rising inflation and a shortage in material such as bitumen, with latest estimates showing it is costing some councils up to 22 per cent more to repair a pothole.
An LGA spokesperson said: “All journeys by car begin and end on local roads, which make up the vast majority of our road network. Spending more on improving our motorways while neglecting crumbling local roads is counterproductive.”
