SUFFOLK: Authorities are locked in a vicious circle of road maintenance which could see a dramatic rise in the number of potholes at the end of the winter.

Paul Geater

SUFFOLK: Authorities are locked in a vicious circle of road maintenance which could see a dramatic rise in the number of potholes at the end of the winter.

That was the verdict today from the organisation which represents Britain's road maintenance industry.

Roads across the country are already showing signs of crumbling after this winter's snow and ice gave way to slush and water.

Colin Loveday, from the Asphalt Industries Association, warned that a lack of routine maintenance was adding to the problems.

He said: “The problem is that many councils have switched from pro-active road repairs - resurfacing before serious problems arise - to reactive work.

“They are coming under pressure to cut costs and they see the routine maintenance budget as one area that can be trimmed.”

Mr Loveday said another strain was the cost of motorists' claims for damage to their vehicles which could come out of the same budget.

And he warned that by cutting routine maintenance expenditure last year, the cost of the repairs this time could be up to ten times greater.

However, a spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council said engineers expected to spend about the same on repairing potholes this year as it did last.

She said: “We spent about �1million last winter and are expecting to spend about the same this year - we are only about half way through winter at the moment so we don't know exactly what the cost will be.”

In Ipswich, the road repairs are undertaken by the borough under an agreement with Suffolk - but problems with roads should still be reported to the county council in the first instance.

Is enough done to deal with potholes? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk