English voters put pothole frustration at centre of local election choices

4 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 4

An industry survey says fixing local roads in England and Wales would cost £18.6bn, take 12 years and follows 1.9 million potholes filled last year.
Labour has allocated £7.3bn for English local road maintenance over four years, while councils warn budget pressure limits repairs and campaigners urge more realistic plans and better-quality fixes.
Potholes rank with living costs, health and crime in voter concerns, with RAC reports mentioning them nearly tripling year-on-year and parties offering competing repair pledges before Thursday's polls.

With billions pledged for potholes, how will the UK break its costly cycle of short-term road repairs?

As repair costs soar, should the UK invest more in durable roads or in better public transport?

Beyond just filling holes, what new technology could finally make Britain's roads pothole-proof?