Motorists in England are now able to scrutinise how swiftly their local highway authority (LHA) is tackling potholes following the introduction of a traffic light system.

A map released by the Department for Transport (DfT) grades 154 LHAs based on current road conditions and gives them a red, amber or green rating for the effectiveness of their pothole-fixing measures. The rating also takes into account how much the LHAs are spending on road repairs and whether they are following best practice.

Last year, the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) estimated that the cost of repairs to rid England and Wales of its pothole problems and bring the road network up to ‘ideal’ conditions had reached almost £17bn.

The government subsequently committed an additional £7.3bn to local road maintenance funding in November’s budget, although this still leaves a sizeable shortfall in the AIA’s estimates. It hoped that the new funding would go towards longer-lasting fixes that would be cheaper in the long term. It also said it should help to reduce maintenance costs for drivers, with the average vehicle repair bill from hitting potholes around £320, and some motorists paying more than £1,000 last year.

“For too long, drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate,” transport secretary Heidi Alexander said. “I have heard time and again their frustration on footing the bill because they hit a pothole – money they should never have to spend in the first place. 

“We’ve put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for LHAs with £7.3bn to fix roads and giving them the long-term certainty they have been asking for. Now it’s over to them to spend the money wisely. For the first time, we are making sure the public can see how well councils are doing in delivering the improvements they want to see in their local area.”

The DfT said that those that scored ‘green’, including Leeds, Sandwell and Manchester, were able to demonstrate they are following best practice – such as investing in more long-term preventative measures rather than just patching up potholes – while also maintaining good road conditions and investing significantly in improving local roads. 

‘Amber’-ranked LHAs showed some of these qualities, with room for improvement in individual areas, while those rated ‘red’ are not yet meeting the expected standards in one or several areas measured by the ratings.

Around 25% of the £500m funding uplift to LHAs this financial year was withheld until they had published transparency reports and set out how they comply with best practice. 

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “These new ratings are a positive move that will help drivers understand how councils are performing when it comes to improving the state of local roads. While there are examples of good road maintenance practice taking place, this isn’t consistent across the country and means drivers have, for too long, been left with substandard roads.”