REPAIRS to fix Scotland’s pothole-blighted roads are facing a £3 billion backlog of work yet to be completed, according to a Holyrood committee.
More than a third of local streets and 13% of major roads need work done, the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee found, with their condition set to worsen if more money is not spent.
Scotland’s Transport Secretary is now facing calls to develop a national strategy backed by “substantial additional investment” to repair and improve roads across the country.
In a letter to Michael Matheson, Tory committee convener Edward Mountain said the backlog for trunk road repairs is currently £1.2bn, in addition to an estimated £1.8bn for local roads.
Mountain cited Audit Scotland reports about road repairs showing there has been a 26% decline in spending on local roads in a five-year period and “significant maintenance backlogs”, with local authorities also reporting a 7.5% drop in funding over the same time.
Mountain said: “The committee is concerned that there is an estimated £1.2bn backlog for maintenance of trunk roads, the main arteries of Scotland’s roads network, and around £1.8bn needs to be spent to bring the local roads network up to a satisfactory standard."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The most recent Audit Scotland report found 87% of trunk roads are in an acceptable condition.
“We are making significant efforts to maximise every penny that is spent on maintenance.”
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