Does preventative road maintenance save money?

What the national figures show

The 46% decline and the rise in potholes over the same period are not two separate stories. Surface dressing is the most widely used preventative treatment on local roads. It seals the surface against water getting in, which is what causes a road to break up. Stop sealing roads and they break up.

The 2026 figure is the part that should give a highway authority pause. The reduction came after record funding was announced, and after a drier than average start to the season, when levels were expected to be higher.

Why deferring is more expensive than it looks

A road that misses its treatment does not wait politely for next year. It spends a winter with water getting into it. The choice is rarely between treating now and treating later at the same price. It is between a preventative treatment now and a structural repair later.

It is very disappointing to see that less surface dressing work has been carried out by councils than last year, especially when there is a government focus on getting more preventative maintenance carried out to improve our roads.

Simon Williams, Head of Policy, RAC, July 2026

Where these figures come from

The REA collects surface dressing data directly from its member companies, who between them cover every major UK producer of bitumen emulsion. It is a continuous national record of how much surface dressing is actually laid on UK roads, rather than an estimate or a survey of intentions.

That is why the figures on this page can be attributed. They are measured, not modelled.

Good roads do exist

The REA campaign, Future Proofing Our Local Roads, exists to show where preventative maintenance has worked rather than only to catalogue where roads have failed. The campaign carries local authority case studies from Cambridgeshire, Worcestershire, Lancashire, Leicestershire and Shropshire.