HIGHWAYS bosses have spoken of the escalating strain they are facing maintaining roads, following funding cuts and the recent severe weather.

Darlington Borough Council’s leisure and environment boss Councillor Nick Wallis said a combination of heavy rain and the lengthy freezing temperatures had “caused mayhem” across its 342-mile road network.

In neighbouring North Yorkshire, the county council said the authority was also facing “increasing pressure due to funding and the deterioration of road surfaces as a result of prolonged winter weather conditions”.

Last year the county authority, which does not set aside funding specifically for fixing potholes, estimated the cost of clearing the backlog of maintenance on its 6,000 miles of roads to be more than £300m, while Darlington’s council said it would need just over £43m to carry out repairs to make its roads a “good standard”.

Councillor Charles Johnson had told a Darlington council meeting that while it was accepted the council was working on repairing potholes, it did “not seem to be winning”.

Councillor Wallis replied that despite “substantial amounts less given to the authority for highways maintenance since 2010 and possibly before”, its maintenance teams filled in a record number of potholes across its 342-mile road network last month.

He said the “chickens were coming home to roost” after many years of under-investment in roads, but said if residents reported a pothole to the council, it would be fixed.

Councillor Wallis added: “Usually this council repairs 6,000 to 8,000 potholes a year. In January we repaired 684 potholes and 1,200 in February, which is a record. There is still an enormous amount to do.”

A spokesman for the North Yorkshire council said it was continuing to maintain and review its risk-based safety inspection regime to ensure the safety of routes for the travelling public following the deterioration of road surfaces due to weather conditions.

He said while some emergency pothole repairs were being carried out the bulk of the improvement works to make inroads into the damage would be delayed until the weather improved.

He said the authority will have spent £48m on road maintenance by the end of this financial year. The spokesman added: “Repairs will be carried out on the basis of prioritisation and to ensure maintenance funding is used most effectively.”