Government claims pothole progress, but are Britain's roads any better for bikers?

The government says its pothole repair programme is delivering smoother roads, with new figures showing an increase in resurfacing work and billions of pounds being spent on road maintenance. 

Whether that translates into a noticeably better experience for motorcyclists is another question.

Figures published by the Department for Transport (DfT) on 21 October claim that nearly 7,000 miles of road will have beeen resurfaced across England during 2026, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.

The government also says that local authorities are set to spend a combined £4.9 billion on road maintenance this year, representing an increase of £800 million compared with the period before the current government came to power.

Alongside the figures, the DfT has released another £220 million in incentive-based funding for councils that meet performance targets, with further money dependent on councils meeting additional requirements.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the figures show that the government is beginning to turn a corner on the country's pothole problem, although she acknowledged that there is still plenty of work to do.

For motorcyclists, however, the headline figures only tell part of the story.

Billions spent, but are Britain's roads getting better?

The government says its £7.3 billion road maintenance funding package is helping motorists avoid repair bills, with the potential for the average driver to save almost £600 through reduced vehicle damage.

That figure is a government estimate rather than a guaranteed saving, and the announcement doesn’t establish how much of the claimed benefit will be felt by motorcyclists specifically.

Nor does resurfacing mileage, on its own, tell us whether the roads being worked on are the ones that most need attention. A freshly resurfaced stretch of carriageway is welcome, but the total mileage figure does not reveal how many dangerous potholes have been eliminated, how long repairs are expected to last or whether problem roads are being prioritised.

Those are important points for riders, as a pothole, or badly repaired section of tarmac, can be a more immediate hazard than it is for someone travelling in a car.

The DfT's latest figures do offer some indication that councils are changing their approach to maintenance. According to the department, 94 per cent of councils will carry out preventative roadworks this year, compared with 76 per cent last year.

Preventative maintenance is intended to address deterioration before it develops into more expensive repairs and dangerous hazards, rather than repeatedly patching the same section of road after potholes appear. In principle, that's good for bikers, and should be a more effective way of maintaining the network.

What the new figures don’t show is how much difference it will make to road conditions over the longer term.

The government also points to separate figures covering the year ending March 2026, which it says show an improvement in local road conditions, with fewer minor roads requiring maintenance following work carried out during the previous year.

What does this mean for motorcyclists?

The additional funding and increased resurfacing activity are welcome developments if they result in better-maintained roads. But the announcement leaves some important questions unanswered for riders.

There’s no breakdown in the headline figures showing how much of the additional spending is being directed towards roads with high motorcycle traffic, or how many potholes have been repaired against how many claims for damage caused by road defects have been made.

There is also a difference between resurfacing a road and ensuring that its surface remains suitable for motorcycling. Loose chippings, uneven joins, degraded edges and poorly reinstated utility trenches can all affect the quality of a ride, even where a council can legitimately count maintenance work as completed.

The additional £220 million is also tied to performance-based targets, with the government saying funding can be withheld from councils that fail to meet the requirements. That introduces a degree of accountability, but the effectiveness of the approach will depend on what councils are required to deliver and how consistently their performance is assessed.

For now, the government's figures suggest that more money is being spent and more resurfacing work is planned.

Ultimately, though, the measure of success will not be how many miles of tarmac appear in a government announcement, but whether the condition of Britain's roads improves in a way that people using them can actually see and feel.

Find the latest motorcycle news on Visordown