The Department for Transport has recently released the first ever traffic-light style ratings for local highway authorities, showing where pothole repair and maintenance efforts are currently effective- and where they aren’t. At the same time, RAC is reporting on fading road markings affecting drivers ability to safely travel. 

For drivers, the frustrations are real. But for construction market professionals, the more important question is, where is the work actually being done?

To answer that, we looked at the remaining UK road maintenance portfolio (excluding pre-tender schemes and non-road infrastructure like Metrolink) to see where maintenance spend is still live and where the real pipeline resides.

The Maintenance Leaderboard

Here’s how the current portfolio stacks up in terms of value remaining to be delivered:

(This leaderboard reflects remaining contract value still to be delivered and not total historical spend.)

Why These Leaders Matter

Two big themes emerge from the data:

A few large contracts dominate the landscape

In Warwickshire, Norfolk and Oxfordshire, nearly all the remaining maintenance value sits in just one or two large long-term contracts. These are the kinds of deals that shape contractor pipelines for years, and they explain why some regions are able to maintain consistent workstreams while others struggle.

In Warwickshire, for example, just two ongoing contracts add up to nearly £1 billion alone, far outweighing most other authorities.

Other areas are wide but shallow

London and the West Midlands show a very different pattern- lots of projects, but lower average values. That reflects fragmented maintenance portfolios with multiple smaller schemes rather than one or two headline frameworks.

What This Tells Us About Road Condition Work

Public discussions about road condition are generally focused on perception and safety outcomes. But a data-led view shows a different story:

Some authorities have huge amounts of funded work yet to deliver.

Others have already awarded most of their spend — leaving only small residual schemes.

A handful of regions are operating large frameworks that effectively drive ongoing resurfacing and condition improvement programmes, which should feed into better outcomes over time.

This aligns with recent government efforts to link funding to performance, such as the new rating system that will influence how authorities access future maintenance budgets.

Key Takeaways for Construction Data Users

If you’re using construction data for lead generation, market intelligence or research, here are the strategic insights from this analysis:

Size matters, but so does structure

Large contract value often correlates with more strategic, long-term work which is ideal for contractors planning a sustained presence.

Don’t be misled by project count

A county with many small value projects isn’t necessarily a richer target than one with fewer, larger contracts.

Prioritise where live spend still exists

Some authorities (e.g., Greater Manchester) have seen their pipeline shrink dramatically as projects complete. Tracking the remaining value gives you a better sense of real opportunity.

Where Work Is Actually Happening

While roads and potholes make for great headlines, understanding where maintenance contracts are concentrated reveals the true picture of commercial opportunity:

Big value doesn’t always mean big project count.
Active spend isn’t always obvious without current data.
Public perception of road condition and the maintenance pipeline can diverge widely.

For contractors, suppliers, and business developers, this is the kind of insight that separates seeing the headlines from knowing where the work really is.