HIGHWAY chiefs dealing with a backlog of Dorset roadworks have expressed concern about meeting the costs of this maintenance work.

The revelation comes hot on the heels of a government watchdog report that concludes England’s local road network is starting to “deteriorate” amid rising repair costs, budget cuts, increased traffic and severe winters.

This Audit Commission dossier states the costs of maintaining England’s 236,000 miles of local roads, for which local authorities – not the Highways Agency – are responsible, is now 50 per cent higher than a decade ago.

But in the next three years there will be a 26 per cent drop in government funding for local authorities and 16 per cent less capital funding via local transport plans, the commission said.

Dorset County Council highways head Andy Ackerman, said: “We do have a backlog of maintenance and therefore are concerned about the budget reductions.

“To help counter this we will continue to apply good asset management principles and will continue to look for opportunities to cut costs by working in collaboration with others.”

The Audit Commission report called for greater working partnerships between local authorities, especially in the light of an expected 20 per cent traffic increase by 2025.

It also highlighted asset management as a way of showing when road repairs will be most effective, and called for authorities to weigh short-term repairs against long-term resilience.

Mr Ackerman said: “Dorset County Council is already largely working to the recommendations in the Audit Commission’s report.

“For example, we have developed plans for structural maintenance, set service standards and take an approach to balance the need for short-term repairs with long-term investment.

“This has helped Dorset, despite being a relatively low-funded authority, to maintain roads in a generally good condition.”