Angela Jones, President of ADEPT, has welcomed the recent announcement of £1 billion in government funding to repair and renew Britain’s ageing road structures.

“This investment is desperately needed and represents a significant step forward in addressing the infrastructure crisis facing local authorities across the country,” she said.

“ADEPT has been warning for years about the deteriorating state of road structures. The government’s acknowledgment that approximately 3,000 bridges cannot support the heaviest vehicles aligns with ADEPT’s own data showing that 3,090 bridges – 4.3% of the 71,925 bridges maintained by local authorities – are currently substandard1.

“In 2023, the RAC Foundation and ADEPT’s joint 2023 Bridge Maintenance study estimated that the one-time cost to clear the maintenance backlog on all 71,925 bridges across the country would be £5.861 billion. This bridges backlog sits within the broader infrastructure challenge highlighted by the latest AIA’s ALARM survey report 20252, which shows a £16.81 billion total backlog for bringing the entire local road network to ideal conditions.

“While today’s £1 billion investment is a significant first step, it underscores the magnitude of the infrastructure deficit that has built up over years of underinvestment. This is not just a technical issue – it’s an economic and social problem that affects communities, businesses and emergency services daily. Our infrastructure is under increasing pressure from extreme weather events and climate change and the government’s commitment to making transport infrastructure more resilient to these challenges is crucial for futureproofing our networks.

“The publication of the Infrastructure Strategy provides an important opportunity to understand the government’s long-term vision for addressing the UK’s infrastructure challenges – we look forward to receiving more detail about how this will support local authorities in delivering essential improvements to our transport networks when it is published.”

(Pic: ADEPT)