This report takes a macroeconomic approach to explore the potential inefficiency and loss of economic productivity as a result of the current condition of the road network.

This report considers a number of inefficiencies as part of this loss, with a total annual inefficiency of £12.2bn across England’s entire road network.

One of the concerns emphasised in this report is that this annual inefficiency adds up quickly over time, and given recent Government estimates that the number of hours each household will spend in traffic by 2040 will rise to 70 hours, with inefficiency on a path to reaching £27bn annually.

The government should be aiming to reduce inefficiency in the network, not mitigate a rise. As such this paper suggests two models which move the government and policy making towards stable investment mechanisms to ensure that the road network receives the maintenance and investment it requires.

These models are underpinned by the principle of a long term asset management approach to both the local and strategic network and they consider the risks that the private and public sector are able to bear under each scenario.