British Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps has launched an audit into the mapping of potholes in England, aided by data from on-road businesses such as Uber and Deliveroo, to better target improvements.
The Department for Transport (DfT) will work with Gaist, a highway data and mapping company, businesses such as Deliveroo, Uber, Tesco and Ocado, alongside local highway authorities to identify pothole hot-spots.
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Combining collated data on current potholes held by nationwide businesses and a bank of roads imagery in the country from Gaist, the Department will be able to paint a picture of where funding is most needed to make sure roads are not plagued by potholes.
The government has committed GBP2.5bn (US$3.3bn) in funding for pothole repairs in what it maintains is the biggest nationwide programme ever announced. The launch of the review comes as new data reveals highway maintenance works undertaken in the past months when roads were quieter during lockdown, has led to 319 miles of resurfacing.
“We’re teaming up with delivery companies, who know the roads well, in order to map out where remaining potholes exist and then target them with our GBP£2.5bn pothole repair fund,” said Shapps.
Since 2010, the government has provided more than GBP1.2bn solely to help repair potholes on the local highway network, including GBP500m from the GBP2.5bn announced in the Budget earlier this year.
