More than a dozen miles of Bolton roads were repaired in the space of a year, an increase from five years previously.

Department for Transport figures show 12.3 miles of roads in Bolton had improvement work done in the year to March 2023 – up from 10.3 miles five years ago.

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

Nationally, 4,144 miles of roads received treatment by local authorities 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 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively.

In Bolton, 8.5 miles of main roads had work done.

A council spokesperson said: “The council carries out regular surveys and inspections of the 1,014km of road we are responsible for.

“We take a risk-based approach to maintenance and repairs, and any defects that could risk the safety of the public are dealt with as a matter of immediate priority.

“Anyone concerned about maintenance issues on the road can report them via the council website or, if it is an emergency, calling our streetcare hotline.”

RAC head of policy Simon Williams is urging local authorities to take a “traffic light” approach to road maintenance.

Roads classified as being in a green or amber condition should undergo preventative maintenance, while those categorised as red “need to be fully resurfaced or strengthened as no amount of preventative treatment will stop them from falling apart”.

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In Bolton, four per cent of main roads and motorways were categorised as red and 14 per cent fell into the amber category.

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.

In October, the government announced it would provide £8.3 billion of extra funding over 11 years to fix potholes in England, using money saved by scrapping the planned extension of HS2 north of Birmingham.

Darren Rodwell, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said councils are working hard to reduce the current £14bn road repairs backlog.

He said: “This includes investing in cost-effective and resilient resurfacing, so that roads stay in better condition for longer, but this has been hampered by inflation and rising costs of materials.

“Extra funding promised over the next decade will help and we urge the government to award council highways departments with five-yearly funding allocations, so they can develop long-term resurfacing programmes and other significant highways improvements.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Local authorities are responsible for road maintenance, but we are supporting them with the biggest ever increase in funding for local road improvements, with £8.3bn of reallocated HS2 funding – enough to resurface over 5,000 miles of roads across the country.

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

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