Council leaders have warned that a spike in the weight of goods transported by lorries could cause a similar surge in the number of potholes.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said the amount heavy goods vehicles are transporting each year rocketed by 5% to almost 1.7 billion tonnes in a year.
The amount goods vehicles transport each year rose by 5%
It said lorries, particularly very heavy lorries, are massively more damaging to road surfaces than cars because they exert more pressure, causing surfaces to crumble quicker.
Cllr Martin Tett, LGA transport spokesman, said: ‘Motorists should literally be bracing themselves for a surge in potholes. Our local roads network faces an unprecedented funding crisis and the latest spike in lorries could push our local roads network over the edge.
‘It is wrong and unfair that the Government allocates almost 40 times more to maintaining national roads, which it controls, compared with local roads, which are overseen by councils. It is paramount this funding discrepancy is swiftly plugged.
‘Our roads crisis is only going to get worse unless we address it as a national priority. The Government's own traffic projections predict a potential increase in local traffic of up to 55% by 2040. Councils need long-term and consistent funding to invest in the resurfacing projects which our road network desperately needs over the next decade.'
The LGA repeated its call for the Government to inject a further £1bn a year into roads maintenance by investing 2p per litre of existing fuel duty.
Cllr Tett said: ‘Motorists pay billions to the Treasury each year in fuel duty when they fill up their car at the pumps only to then have to drive on roads that are decaying after decades of underfunding.’
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