The pothole puzzle: the bumpy ride to fixing Britain’s broken roads

Key Takeaways

• Marsh Street in the historic centre of Bristol is a modest little stretch of road with an office block at one end, a Thai restaurant at the other, and an almighty mess in between.
• Along its length of 200 metres or so, the tarmac surface of the road is pockmarked with many dozens of cracks, patches, divots and holes.
• In some spots where the surface has worn away, three or more layers of road structure are exposed beneath.
• What is a bouncy enough ride in a bus or car is even more of an assault course for cyclists, a number of whom weave carefully down its length as they cut through the city centre.
• “I think it’s quite ridiculous how bad it is,” says Gary Gainey, nodding at the surface – and as a Bristol bus driver, he is well acquainted with the bumpiest bits of its road network.