READING’S roads have been named the fourth worst in the country, according to a recent study.
Experts at Bill Plant Driving School have assessed the condition of major roads in local authorities across the UK, and found that almost one in ten are in poor condition in Reading.
Using road conditions in England data, factors such as highway and transport expenditure and roads requiring maintenance were taken into account.
Road Condition Indicator (RCI) scores above 100 suggests roads are likely to be in poor condition and may require maintenance in the next year. 9% of Reading’s A-reds fall into this ‘red’ category.
Only Nottingham (10%), Southend-on-Sea (11%) and Derbyshire (20%) had a higher percentage of red roads.
A Reading Borough Council spokesperson said: “Reading Council is fully committed to improving road surfaces across the borough, highlighted by the recent completion of a £9 million residential roads and pavements programme that saw over a third of residential roads resurfaced.
“An additional £8 million council investment in surfacing improvements, alongside Department for Transport grant funding, will begin shortly.
“A focus on Reading’s A roads is already in progress, with over 80 sections of main roads completed in the last two years, another 40 set to be resurfaced in spring and up to another 40 to be addressed in late summer.
“The investment has seen a dramatic improvement in overall road conditions with a huge improvement in residential roads from 35% green (good condition) to 77% green, and we are expecting major roads to improve as a result of the upcoming programme.
“Pothole repairs have decreased dramatically from 3,644 in 2021 to 899 in 2022, and the annual National Highways & Transport MORI Residents Satisfaction Surveys for 2022 showed 141 national indicators in Reading being above average and 90 indicators improving.
“The Council is responding to residents’ desire for improved road surfaces, and Reading’s roads are constantly being improved and upgraded for them.”
RCI scoring below 40 are declared to be in good, or ‘green’ condition. The study showed that 95% of A-roads in Redcar and Cleveland were classed as green, the most in the UK, followed by Halton, Sheffield and Enfield (89%).
Across the 117 councils, it was found that highway expenditure came out to an average of £90 per head.
Data confirmed that the majority of areas with roads in poor condition are spending more than the average – only Derbyshire, Bradford, Telford and Wrekin and Surrey are spending less than the £90 mark.
Findings from Bill Plant Driving School’s research can be found here: www.billplant.co.uk/blog/englands-best-roads/
