Maintenance of Major Highways Over Repairs to Local Infrastructure

Leamington Spa, UK, 20th October 2016 – Almost half of all road users (43%) believe that authorities prioritise major highways for repairs over local roads, according to a new survey by technology company Yotta.

This is despite the fact that more than twice as many people complain about local roads as do about the country’s large A roads and motorways. In total, 44% of those polled had complained to the local authority at least once about the state of their local road network compared to only 18% who had complained about the major highways network.

“It’s clear that there is a significant disconnect between the public and the authorities when it comes to the repair of the road network. Problems with local roads affect more people every day and yet there’s a perception that the majority of the budget is going towards maintaining major cross-country routes, which many people may only use occasionally,” says Simon Topp, director of marketing and international business, Yotta.

“When almost half care enough about the state of their neighbourhood roads to contact the authorities about their experience – with more than a quarter (26%) complaining multiple times – then it’s clear that people are dissatisfied with the way budget is allocated.”

Levels of discontent were even more marked in Scotland where 54% believed that the authorities prioritised highways – with only 4% thinking local roads came first.