"K" wrote
Bob Hobden writes

That said, the whole country's roads are in such a bad state the Annual
Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey states....

"The 2009 ALARM Survey is the 14th to be published and reports that £8.5
billion is now needed to bring the roads of England and Wales up to
scratch. Local authorities relate that they still only receive around half
of the road maintenance budgets they need, resulting in a backlog of up to
13 years."

http://www.asphaltindustryalliance.com/alarm.asp


"Up to scratch" is a rather subjective term. I wonder whether the Asphalt
Industry Alliance definition of "up to scratch" matches, for example, my
definition?

Maybe, depends if you drive and like spending money on repairs (just had new
front suspension bushes fitted) caused by the dire state of our roads, even
the dreaded speed bumps are falling apart round here.
Figures and cost of bringing the roads "up to scratch" are from the Councils
themselves, see my link.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK