Had my car in the garage for new front springs recently. With the road surfaces getting worse every year it probably won’t be long before it’s back in for more suspension work. There seems to be roadworks at every turn these days , yet the surface just gets worse. Why does this situation seem to be acceptable to the councils nationwide?
With the amount of money motorists put in to the coffers we should at least have the same quality of road surfaces as any other third world country.

Massive improvements in Somerset over recent months.

Thought we was following in Sheffield United footsteps when I saw the thread title albeit with a different John Denver song.

Sat in more roadworks currently on Rossendale Road, seem to be digging up this road every couple of weeks or so.

I think that the govt is worried that Putin is about to invade and wants to make sure the roads are impassible to his tanks. They're doing a pretty good job.

They are in a shocking state in some areas. Presumably down to Council budgets and a simple lack of investment. I like to use my road bike now and again but I’m forever having to look down on the road to try and avoid all the pot holes rather than looking up to take in the view. I can think of several areas on busy main roads that were patched up last year and are now opening up again.

Instead of resurfacing, the council seem to just patch small areas. This in my opinion over the years causes so many different areas of different age of tarmac that you're bound to never have a decent surface. They need to start resurfacing larger areas or entire streets rather than just patching a few yards for them to deteriorate and break apart again.

It doesn't help either with the sheer weight (and size, though that's a topic for another discussion) of the cars on the roads today - road tax should also be influenced by curb weight.

Take the electric BMW iX, which has a curb weight of around 2,500 kg. Typical cars made 20 years ago rarely had a curb weight of more than 1,500 kg. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you have significantly heavier cars driving around, then your roads are going to receive more stress, leading to the state of the roads that we see today.

Oh and austerity hasn't helped either.

claretburns wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 7:44 am

Sat in more roadworks currently on Rossendale Road, seem to be digging up this road every couple of weeks or so.

Which part of Rossy Road this time?

Hey i would have said that Irish roads were bad in the past but hell nothing like the roads here in southern Italy which have to been seen to belive .

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 10:28 am

Which part of Rossy Road this time?

Down by the petrol station I think

This summer we have been on holiday to Dorset and Somerset and did quite a lot of mileage around the counties.

My wife commented a couple of times whilst we were there about the distinct lack of potholes on the roads around the area.

Is it just Lancashire County Council who seem unable to keep on top of this problem?

Here in the Fylde we seemed to have less potholes than in some areas .But overall roads are getting impassable elsewhere.

CoolClaret wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 9:33 am

It doesn't help either with the sheer weight (and size, though that's a topic for another discussion) of the cars on the roads today - road tax should also be influenced by curb weight.

Take the electric BMW iX, which has a curb weight of around 2,500 kg. Typical cars made 20 years ago rarely had a curb weight of more than 1,500 kg. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you have significantly heavier cars driving around, then your roads are going to receive more stress, leading to the state of the roads that we see today.

Oh and austerity hasn't helped either.

Particularly because the damage done is by a factor of the fourth power of the weight.

Double the weight and it is 16 times worse, triple the weight and it is 81 times worse and so on.

The road i lived on in Burnley last year looked like it had been dug up for roadworks in some places, it was so bad for potholes.

Realistically from their perspective the highway agency or council contract workers. Why would you mend the potholes properly when you are always guaranteed work constantly fixing them.

As with every element of work involving the local authority, there's a concerted effort to reduce costs. The issue with that is a significant reduction in the quality of work completed.

Commercially, I've worked with a company called Roadmender. They've created a new type of surface repair product made from old tyres. It's a great product in the right situation. If you can get it down just as the surface course has started to craze, it will work. It's like a rubber plaster, very thin but strong and durable. It binds the surface course together, stops water from getting down into the base and sub-base, prolonging the life significantly

He's sold loads of his product to councils, but they're not using it correctly. I live in Rochdale and they use it around here. The problem is they're throwing it into potholes, and using it like tarmac, which it isn't! By weight, it's far more expensive than tarmac so it'll ultimately cost the council more. They used it to "repair" a pothole at the end of our road. It lasted a couple of weeks. Shocking workmanship. It didn't take a genius to see the sub-base was failing. You can't put a plaster on that. It all a rush job these days though. Throw it down, tick a box, move on. If they carry on using this product as they are, the roads will only get worse.

Jakubclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 7:33 am

Thought we was following in Sheffield United footsteps when I saw the thread title albeit with a different John Denver song.

Exactly what I expected when I opened the thread.

Definitely needs adding to the anthems thread

Reasons are probably a combination of things

- Vehicles are heavier on average nowadays (rise of electric vehicles)
- Extreme weather events happening more often of late (climate change)
- Council budgets have been gutted in the last few years (at risk of going all political)

Guy I know at Kwikfit said they've never had so many springs in their bins at the end of the week.

Plus, of course, the Government rake in VAT at 20% on all garage repairs. So, you have to reason, by NOT repairing potholes, they’re making even more money. Of course the VAT income just goes into the big pot, along with VED, that never gets spent on the roads.

Woodleyclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 11:28 am

Here in the Fylde we seemed to have less potholes than in some areas .But overall roads are getting impassable elsewhere.

We get less snow & ice than burnley & pendle which makes a significant difference.

Tribesmen wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 10:53 am

Hey i would have said that Irish roads were bad in the past but hell nothing like the roads here in southern Italy which have to been seen to belive .

The autostrada just east of Naples (A3) has had the same roadworks for 20+ years now. It's the worst motorway surface I've ever driven on.

Rapid and unsustainable population growth in 20yrs
This has led to more homes being built, more lorries on the road for building sites, more normal traffic Inc heavier EVs
We also had austerity after the financial crash that Labour assumed wouldn't be coming after they stated they'd ended the boom and bust nature of the economy

The average council is pretty rubbish as spending money sensibly

We had covid, which led to a lot of much needed infrastructure works being halted

It's resulted in the crap roads we have now

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 10:28 am

Which part of Rossy Road this time?

Down towards the final block before the traffic lights at Accy Road, was a nightmare after work trying to get through as the temporary traffic lights then form a queue backing down to the main traffic lights and no one can move.

claretburns wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 5:27 pm

Down towards the final block before the traffic lights at Accy Road, was a nightmare after work trying to get through as the temporary traffic lights then form a queue backing down to the main traffic lights and no one can move.

I'd suggest walking it but I've done that walk up Rossy Road far too many times. It's beyond me now.

The delusion of repairing things on the cheap.
Councils pay half the price, but have to repair them 3 times as often. Madness

dougcollins wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 4:34 pm

The autostrada just east of Naples (A3) has had the same roadworks for 20+ years now. It's the worst motorway surface I've ever driven on.

Have to agree , potholes on the autostrada I mean really .

Tribesmen wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 10:53 am

Hey i would have said that Irish roads were bad in the past but hell nothing like the roads here in southern Italy which have to been seen to belive .

I was in ROI recently and thought the roads were very good. It was only when I crossed into NI that the roads became terrible just like home.

karatekid wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 7:06 pm

I was in ROI recently and thought the roads were very good. It was only when I crossed into NI that the roads became terrible just like home.

There has been a lot of change in the last 30 years and I have to say the motorways are great and happy to pay tolls for them when we lived there .

Drove the length of Trafalgar Street today and there are smoother trips between African villages I recon.

The whole west gate/trafalgar junction is like a bomb crater.

Here in Northern Tasmania we also have Pothole problems. Last year I well and truly upset the council surveyor whilst surveying a stretch of road that had quite a number of major repairs in the past couple of years. We had an in depth conversation on road surface repairs then he asked me if and what I was working on
to which I responded "A Time Machine." Why ? he questioned , so I can transport a number of Roman Road Engineers to show how to construct roads that shall last a minimum of a 1000 years! I can assure you he was far from impressed with me and my comments!
Up The Clarets

I was driving from Manchester back to Burnley on Monday. Hit a pot hole on the A56 just before Haslingden.

Tyre bust instantly and god knows how I managed to keep the car on the road. That stretch of road is almost undrivable.

£90 for a new tyre down the drain !!!

The sheer amount of cars on the roads is unbelievable. I was in gridlock driving through Nelson the other day. Mind you there are roadworks everywhere in Nelson. They are not repairing the surface , they are putting in new traffic lights and widening pavements which will all slow down the traffic flow through the town. Fair enough as there is a speeding problem in the area but I thought that was what the potholes were for.

Crookedbillet wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 11:31 pm

£90 for a new tyre down the drain !!!

Download this LCC claim form and fill it in.

https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/vie ... BROWSELINK

Crookedbillet wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 11:31 pm

I was driving from Manchester back to Burnley on Monday. Hit a pot hole on the A56 just before Haslingden.

Tyre bust instantly and god knows how I managed to keep the car on the road. That stretch of road is almost undrivable.

£90 for a new tyre down the drain !!!

I ended up with a tyre defect after smashing into a deep hole on there. You can’t change lanes as you don’t know what you’re driving into. No cost thankfully as I have insurance for tyre/alloy wheel changes but not the point.

After having a 2 week break, the roadworks and temporary traffic lights have reappeared at the Tim Bobbin junction today

I understand the need to maintain infrastructure but why does it take so long ?

Boris Johnson's government announced a £150 million fund for road repairs, only a small amount of which has been taken up because it would only offer a percentage of the cost and most councils could not afford the co-pay part of the deal.

All road repair contracts are awarded on lowest cost basis. That is the law, I believe, and council officers are not allowed to factor in longevity of the repairs nor the quality of any materials used or the skills of any workforce. It seems like as much money is spent on worksite safety (cones for half a mile or more in advance of the work then a 200 yard 'work's exit' lane) as on the actual job itself!

Jakubclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 12:21 pm

Realistically from their perspective the highway agency or council contract workers. Why would you mend the potholes properly when you are always guaranteed work constantly fixing them.

This. Exactly 100% this. This is the reason.
There is no incentive for the private companies to do a good job. The longer they take the money they get paid, and if they do a bad job they will be called back out to do it again, and again, and again. It is like winning the lottery for them at the moment. It isn‘t just the roads as well. It happens in nearly every instance where tax payer money is used to pay a private company.

Some would call it corruption, we call it the UK.

RickyBobby wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 11, 2025 7:57 pm

This. Exactly 100% this. This is the reason.
There is no incentive for the private companies to do a good job. The longer they take the money they get paid, and if they do a bad job they will be called back out to do it again, and again, and again. It is like winning the lottery for them at the moment. It isn‘t just the roads as well. It happens in nearly every instance where tax payer money is used to pay a private company.

Some would call it corruption, we call it the UK.

I've got most things sussed out.

This scenario of crumbling roads is something that we will all have to live with for decades if not longer. Change has to come from the top and there just isnt the will to make it happen. This norm of **** surfaces is too entrenched in the mindset of those in charge. Currently on a 3 week road trip through France, Germany ,Ausrria, Switzerland and Belgium and so far the majority of the roads have been immaculate. Its soul destroying and embarrassing that the UK is a **** country in so many ways....not just roads.

Tribesmen wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 09, 2025 6:28 pm

Have to agree , potholes on the autostrada I mean really .

Aye the non-toll one that runs parallel to the toll past Affi on the bottom of the Brenner Road is absolutely shocking

Got stuck in 3 way temporary lights at B&Q roundabout in Brierfield today. Can’t recall there being an issue with the road there. Maybe they decided it needs a few holes putting in it.

We come into Colne via Carleton moor which leads down onto castle road, the long stretch before you meet the first 30 mph signs with the bungalows on the left at the top has been dreadful for several years, very long deep divets and pot holes, they recently had parts of that road closed to lay new piping, water board I think, no such luck at getting new tarmac re laid. If you’re cycling it’s really dangerous.