THE number of miles of roads in Warrington undergoing maintenance has fallen considerably compared to five years ago, new figures show.

Across England, the total length of roads treated dropped by 45 per cent in 2022-23 compared to five years ago, resulting in 3,366 fewer miles receiving any kind of improvement work.

The RAC has said pothole-related breakdowns have surged in recent months, reaching a five-year high in the run-up to Christmas.

Department for Transport figures show 3.9 miles of roads in Warrington had improvement work done in the year to March 2023 – down from 14.4 miles five years ago.

The maintenance could include strengthening, resurfacing and preservation of roads.

Nationally, 4,144 miles of roads received treatment by councils in 2022-23 compared with 7,510 miles in 2017-18.

Of the road network treated, 764 miles of main roads, classified as A-roads, were improved, and 3,384 of minor roads – a drop of 37 and 46 per cent respectively.

In Warrington, just 2.9 miles of main roads had work done.

A Warrington Borough Council spokesman said: “We undertake a series of surveys annually to assess the condition of the road network in the borough.

“These surveys show 1.3 per cent of A-roads were classified as red, with planned maintenance soon, and 14.7 per cent were classified as amber, with planned investigation due to take place soon.

“Moreover, one per cent of the B and C-road network within Warrington was classified as red, with planned maintenance soon.

“In 2021/22, the council’s six-year, £40million highway investment programme saw the successful completion of 612 schemes across the carriageway and footway network.

“This has led to the number of resurfacing lengths reducing compared with previous years.

“This programme included 71 road schemes across A, B and C-roads, 257 other local roads intended for local traffic, 203 footway schemes and 81 surface dressing schemes.

“We are also due to start on a further highway investment programme which will focus on the condition of unclassified roads and footways.

“The council does not maintain motorways, which is the responsibility of Highways England.”

RAC head of policy Simon Williams commented: “These figures lay bare just how little resurfacing and life-extending preservation work councils have managed to carry out in the last financial year.

“We suspect this means road maintenance in England has reached a new low point – a sorry state of affairs considering how car-dependent the country is.

“It is especially concerning to see that so few miles of A-roads received any form of road maintenance last year, when these important routes are used by millions of drivers every day.”

In October, the Government announced it would provide billions of pounds worth of extra funding over 11 years to fix potholes in England.

A Department for Transport spokesman added: “Local authorities are responsible for road maintenance, but we are supporting them with the biggest ever increase in funding for road improvements.

“This is with £8.3billion of reallocated HS2 funding – enough to resurface more than 5,000 miles of roads across the country.

“This is on top of more than £5.5billion already committed to local highways maintenance and will help make journeys smoother and safer for all.”