North Tyneside's road network has been branded as in good order and "serviceable" - however, it is forecast to "decline" and maintenance costs for the roads are expected to dramatically increase in the next three years.
In 2021, the maintenance backlog costs for roads requiring repair stood at £25m. However, the estimated costs for the backlog have jumped to £52.5m by 2026.
Councillor Sandra Graham, cabinet member for the environment said: "The additional and continued investment in highways we have made in recent years has been a benefit in terms of improvements to the network. However, as the cabinet knows, this cannot continue and the government's funding model for local authorities is simply unsustainable.
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"It also leaves councils having to make local decisions to tackle the funding shortfalls. The war in Ukraine and the inflation crises have created further added pressure and our flood condition projects show maintaining our highway network is becoming increasingly more challenging.
"We all know about these increasing costs and this means we can buy much less than we could a year ago. I am sure this latest information will assist cabinet to make future decisions on highway maintenance so we can continue to maintain our highways with the funding available."
According to local authority documents, the cost of surfacing materials is also now 22% higher than it was 12 months ago. This translates to around 10 fewer roads being resurfaced in 2022/23 compared to previous recent years.
A report into the highways has also shown that resident satisfaction on the roads has been proved to be "a challenge". Elected mayor Dame Norma Redfearn said that the network, valued at around £1.8bn, will remain a priority for the council.
The council's report into the highways states: "The Highway Asset Management Plan recognises that improvement to the network will always be constrained by available resources and so there is a need to prioritise. With this in mind, over the next 12 months, the Authority will be developing more in-depth customer engagement to better understand customer priorities and where residents would like to see resources spent."
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