Today’s official update on the condition of roads in England reveals that, while added investment continues to keep major roads in a reasonably good state, drivers face a nearly one in six chance of encountering roads needing repair on residential streets or in rural areas.

Out on the motorways and other stretches of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), drivers had better watch their speed, particularly in poor weather conditions. Poor skid resistance has increased on both motorways and SRN A roads.

From Road conditions in England to March 2026 - GOV.UK:

In 2026, the percentage of ‘A’ road that ‘should have been considered for maintenance’ was the same as the previous year. For ‘B’ and ‘C’ road and unclassified road, this percentage decreased, Local authorities reported the percentage of:

local ‘A’ road that ‘should have been considered for maintenance’ to be 4%, unchanged since 2025

‘B’ and ‘C’ road that ‘should have been considered for maintenance’ to be 6%, a decrease from 7% in 2025

unclassified road that ‘should have been considered for maintenance’ to be 16%, a decrease from 17% in 2025. Data for the unclassified road network is less robust and more changeable year on year than other road classifications.

In 2026, skidding resistance surveys showed that:
of the SRN motorway, 6% required further investigation. This was an increase from the 5% reported since 2023
of the SRN ‘A’ road, 17% required further investigation, an increase from 16% reported in 2025. This is an increase of 6 percentage points from 11% reported in 2022; however, it is 9 percentage points lower than the peak of 26% reported in 2016

Today’s road condition report once again reveals two different Englands: one with major and main roads in reasonably good condition and another with minor and rural roads often pitted with holes and defects.

While the AA Pothole Index shows some improvement from the added investment in road repairs, the same complaint resonates among the millions of AA members: the main roads are usually in pretty good shape but the streets between them and drivers’ homes are not.

Added jeopardy comes from pedestrians, cyclists and children being encouraged to be more active in their neighbourhoods but running the gauntlet of road defects. Many of these defects don’t quite meet a council’s criteria for repair but still pose a threat, or are bad enough to meet repair requirements but are back-logged on a long list.

What is happening on rural roads partly mirrors what is happening in residential streets but is ramped up to a higher threat level: potholes and other defects are harder to spot, more severe and take even longer to be repaired.

In terms of amount of maintenance, the report states:

In 2026:
for the local ‘A’ road network (excluding locally managed motorways), 6.9% received maintenance treatment. For the minor road network (‘B’, ‘C’ and unclassified roads), this was 3%
preservation remained the most frequent maintenance type on both ‘A’ and minor roads. This reflects guidance for local authorities to carryout preventative maintenance, extending the lifespan of roads

In 2026, approximately 10,000km of local road was maintained, increasing by 6.5% from approximately 9,400km in 2025.

In 2025, the percentage of both ‘A’ and minor road that was maintained increased for the first time since 2017. Both have also increased in 2026. The percentage of ‘A’ road maintained had gradually decreased from 8.1% in 2014 to 4.7% in 2024. The percentage increased to 5.8% in 2025 and then to 6.9% in 2026. The percentage of the minor road network maintained had been falling since 4.3% was reported in 2017, reaching 2.5% in 2023 and 2024. The percentage increased to 2.9% in 2025 and further to 3% in 2026. However, despite recent increases, figures are still below levels seen in 2017.