Up to fifth of Scottish roads needs urgent repairs but cash is scarce

• Picture: TSPL

They also warned of a "step change downwards" in the condition of non-trunk routes because of the severe winter unless spending increases.

The Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (Scots) said the amount allocated to repairs must be boosted by more than a third to 167 million a year just to prevent roads from getting even worse.

The news came as an Auto- mobile Association poll showed people in Scotland were the least satisfied in the UK over the quality of road repairs, with just 16 per cent happy. In addition, 88 per cent were worried the state of roads could affect safety.

The latest annual Scots report into the state of the country's non-trunk roads showed 7.1 per cent of their 32,350 mileage was in the "red" category, as requiring "immediate treatment". The total is up from 6.2 per cent in the previous survey.

However, the figure reached 18 per cent in one unnamed local authority area – one of six councils with more than 10 per cent of its roads in the red zone.

In addition, a further 29 per cent of roads were in the "amber" category – "requiring investigation to consider what maintenance is necessary". Such roads are likely to need repairs within two to three years. The impact of the winter conditions will be included in next year's report.

Jim Valentine, the chairman of Scots, told MSPs last week: "We need to invest 1 billion during the next ten years just to keep the transport network where it is, and most people would agree that the network is not in a good state.

"What the public sees are quick temporary repairs that do not last, but until the funding issue is dealt with, patching is all that will be done. I do not think many authorities are doing reconstruction."

Dave Duthie, director of the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership, a public-private co-ordinating body, said: "If councils are spending so much of their money filling potholes just so the road survives, they will not have the money to do the long-term maintenance, which is what should be done. It is a no-win situation."

Mr Duthie also warned of possible traffic limits due to the damage caused by heavy timber lorries. He said: "They do such significant damage to roads that were not designed to take them, that councils cannot afford to maintain the roads. The worry is that in forestry, extraction is happening at a greater rate, and councils will find it very difficult to maintain the load capacity on those roads and may have to apply restrictions to keep them safe. That will have a massive impact on the forestry sector."

The Automobile Association described road maintenance as the "Cinderella of local authority funding". Head of roads policy Paul Watters said: "Poor-quality roads can result in more accidents and damage claims, so investing in maintenance is money well spent.

"If we leave roads to deteriorate, it can cost up to nine times more to fix them when they have fallen apart than when they are just ready for repair."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Local authorities are responsible for maintaining local roads. We have made an extra 5 million available for councils, following some of the worst weather conditions in decades this winter, which comes on top of almost 12 billion in funding for local authorities this year.

"That matches our commitment to ensure local government continues to receive an increasing share of the Scottish budget to enable councils to meet their priorities, such as maintaining roads."