More than a third of Bolton’s unclassified roads, the local streets and minor roads most residents use every day, are now classed as being in poor condition, according to the latest figures from Bolton Council.
The council’s own assessment shows that 34% of unclassified roads are in the “red” category for 2024/25, meaning they have deteriorated to the point where surface or structural repair should be considered.
This is the highest level in five years and a sharp rise from 21% just a year earlier.
Unclassified roads do not carry a letter designation like A or B roads. They make up the vast majority of the network, covering 822 out of 1,017 kilometres of roadway in the borough, and include residential streets, cul-de-sacs and estate roads. While less visible than main roads, they are often the ones people rely on to get in and out of their homes and neighbourhoods.
At the same time, the amount of resurfacing, reconstruction and surface treatment work being carried out on Bolton’s road network has dropped significantly over the last three years. In 2020/21, the council maintained nearly 25 miles of road. By 2023/24, that figure had more than halved to just 11 miles.
Bolton's roads in numbers
- 34% of unclassified roads are in poor condition in 2024, up from 21% in 2023
- 11 miles of road were maintained in 2023, down from 25 miles in 2020
- 11,500 potholes were filled in 2024/25, up from 4,552 in 2020/21
- The council plans to resurface 5.8 miles of road this year, just under a quarter of what was maintained in 2020
The decline in maintenance comes despite a rise in pothole filling. Last year alone, the council filled nearly 12,000 potholes, with a forecast of 11,500 more this year. This raises concerns that resources are being spent on short-term fixes rather than long-term resurfacing.
The council has said it plans to resurface 5.8 miles of carriageway in the current financial year, alongside 2.4 miles of surface treatment, as part of its 2025/26 capital programme. That would represent a modest increase on the previous year but still falls well short of earlier maintenance levels.
Elsewhere in the report, the council highlights the added pressure that climate change is placing on its highway infrastructure. Increased and more intense rainfall poses a growing risk of flooding from surface runoff, and the drainage network is being reanalysed using the latest flood risk maps. Structures like bridges and culverts are also being monitored more closely for potential water damage and erosion.
Bolton’s ageing infrastructure presents another challenge. Much of the road network was built during the 18th and 19th centuries and “has not been constructed to modern standards”, the council notes in its Highways Maintenance Transparency Report. This, they say, makes many roads more vulnerable to deterioration from weather, water damage and utility works.