Huge pothole backlog as more than half of region’s roads ‘not in good condition’.

According to the current ALARM report, municipalities in the West Midlands have a £1.94 billion backlog of carriageway repairs to mend potholes and fractured roads.

Following a report claiming insufficient funding to address the pothole situation in the West Midlands, transport officials have committed to continue addressing the issue.

The most recent Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey indicated that councils in the region have a £1.94 billion backlog of carriageway repairs to restore potholes and damaged roads.

The Asphalt Industry Alliance commissioned the survey, which found that only 46% of the local road network is in good condition.

The government set aside £7.3 billion for road maintenance between 2026/27 and 2029/30, including £1.6 billion in 2025/26 to repair potholes and resurface roads.

However, the poll found that, despite increased funds, each council would have required an additional £117 million last year to maintain their network to their own goal conditions and prevent further deterioration.

During a visit to Birmingham, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated: “The Labour government is tripling the amount of money available to councils to repair potholes and rebuild our damaged roads.

“This fiscal year, we provided an additional £500 million, bringing the total to £1.6 billion. The previous Conservative Government’s underinvestment over a decade will take time to address.

“We’ve seen biblical levels of rain at the beginning of this year, which has had an impact on the quality of local road services. We’ve given that extra money, and we’re also making sure councils spend that money wisely.

Get it right the first time, don’t have contractors come back to it, and invest in sensible things like preventative road resurfacing, which can offer better value for money in the long term.”

Last month, West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker boosted funding to make £240 million available to Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, and Wolverhampton for highway maintenance over five years beginning April 2027.

He stated, “We continue to invest in our transport network throughout this region; we have additional monies – twice what we had previously – to address the regional problem of potholes that blight people’s journeys every day.

“We are pursuing a comprehensive strategy to tackling our transport difficulties.

The government has earmarked £2.4 billion to address the region’s strategic transport goals, including investments in buses, rail networks, and metro.

The amount is unprecedented. I will collaborate with the government and local councils to ensure that the entire transport system is functional for residents.”We want roads that are safe for people to travel on.

We’ve allocated twice as much money as we had previously to fix potholes.”I’m now working on big strategic infrastructure developments to improve connectivity across the region.”

Read more on Straightwinfortoday.com