England’s motorways have recently come under scrutiny due to “unacceptable” amounts of litter. However, things aren’t all bad.
Instarmac, who manufacture and distribute road surfacing materials and other cement/bitumen-based products, have discovered that North West England’s motorways are the best-maintained in the country.
Only 53.6% of motorways and major roads across the UK were graded A (no litter or refuse) or B (predominantly free of litter and refuse apart from some small items) by the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs’ Litter Code of Practice.
Using Freedom of Information requests, Instarmac investigated which area of the UK had the highest percentage of clean motorways, revealing the North West as the region with the highest amount of A/B ratings.
The North West covers a 530-mile stretch from the city of Carlisle to the edge of the Peak District. Roads in the North West saw a staggering 35.1 billion road users in 2022 alone, making it the third-most busy road network in the UK.
The data recovered by Instarmac covered the standard of roads from 2022–2023 and over this period 83% of North West England motorways received an A or B rating.
The lowest-rated region was the Midlands. Only 33.5% of the Midlands’ motorways received an A or B rating, making them the worst-maintained for drivers.
Richard Moss, Head of Civils at Instarmac, had this to say about the findings: “It’s incredibly important that our roads are maintained to the highest acceptable standard – it’s crucial for business, for workers and our emergency services. It’s relieving to hear that the third busiest road network by vehicle miles is the best-maintained.
“Councils across the UK are working hard to reduce the impact of litter on our motorways, so the onus lies with motorway users to take responsibility for their rubbish. We hope to see standards raised in the busiest motorway regions – the South East and East of England – in the future.”
