Overview
- Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander’s Mini was towed in March on the B4437 near Burford after she hit what she called a “moon-like” crater.
- The Department for Transport announced this week that up to £525 million of a £1.6 billion local roads fund will be withheld unless councils show the money is fixing roads.
- Oxfordshire has an allocation reported at about £34 million for pothole work this year, placing the county under the same performance tests as other authorities.
- Industry data put the repair backlog for local roads in England and Wales at about £18.6 billion, and recovery services have logged spikes in pothole callouts and nights when many cars were damaged by a single defect.
- Metro reported a £150 tyre bill for Alexander, who said the breakdown brought “added expense and inconvenience” that many drivers now face.