Britain's roads are riddled with defects and deteriorating to third world standards, according to motoring groups, which expressed alarm yesterday over the hundreds of key routes that have made it to the government's danger list for close monitoring.
An annual survey by the transport department showed a slight improvement in the general appearance of roads, with a defects index falling for the first time since 1995. But the number of roads with deeper structural problems requiring observation rose sharply.
The AA blamed local authorities for the problems, saying that 5% of the funds intended for road mainte nance had been diverted to other causes. Councils are responsible for the upkeep of minor roads, while the highways agency takes care of motorways and A roads.
John Dawson, the AA's director of policy, said: "This is very worrying. There are shades here of what's happening on the railways and the London underground. Things are being patched up, but they're in a much worse state than they look."
Over the past two years, the government has doubled to £555m the amount of money it gives local authorities for road maintenance. But the cash is not legally "ringfenced" and the AA says millions of pounds are filtered off by councils for other purposes.
Mr Dawson said: "There's a serious underlying problem here. Can the local authorities, elected on a short term basis at a political level, actually be trusted to understand the long term infrastructure problems?"
In the government's national road maintenance condition survey, an annual index of surface defects fell 1.4 points to 107, having risen in 2000 to its worst level for a quarter of a century. Trunk roads did particularly well, although rural roads had deteriorated.
The most common problems included ruts, although there was also concern raised about the "skidding resistance" of some roads.
But structural surveys revealed a worsening trend in the sub-surface condition of roads. In the three main categories - motorways, urban and rural roads - there was an increase in areas requiring observation.
Pavements also fared poorly, with the number of potential danger spots, or "trips", rising to the highest level since the 1980s. A quarter of pavements deteriorated during the year and there was an average of 2.3 trips per 100 metres.
The government yesterday said it was on track to meet its target of halting the long term deterioration in roads by 2004. A spokeswoman said: "This report shows that the number of defects has plateaued. We're providing sufficient money to local authorities to halt the problem."
The RAC said that compensation claims by drivers had used up about 18% of local authorities' maintenance budgets last year, as damages of £121m were awarded to road users for accidents caused by poor roads.
An RAC spokesman said: "The government is painting a rather optimistic picture based on a very minor visual improvement. In reality, the money needed doesn't seem to be getting through."
Motoring organisations are hoping that the new secretary of state for transport, Alistair Darling, will clarify the government's attitude towards roads and car use.
Environmentalists complain that the government has pledged to get people out of cars and on to public transport but appears reluctant to take on the motor lobby by charging for the use of roads.
