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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11The road classification decides who is responsible. Welsh Government is the highway authority for motorways and A trunk roads. Welsh local authorities are responsible for A county roads, B roads, C roads and minor surfaced roads. Welsh Government’s Trunk Road Agents operate and maintain its strategic network on its behalf, but the legal highway authority remains Welsh Government.
That distinction matters because Wales has both A trunk roads and A county roads. The letter and number alone do not identify the organisation you should contact.
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The responsibility split: strategic roads versus local roads
Wales’ roads fall into two practical groups. The strategic road network consists of motorways and A trunk roads. Welsh Government owns the highway responsibility for that network. The local road network consists of A county roads, B roads, C roads and minor surfaced roads, which are managed by the relevant local authority.
| Road type | Highway authority | Who normally operates and maintains it | Where to start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorways | Welsh Government | Welsh Government’s Trunk Road Agents | Check Traffic Wales for the route and reporting or claim instructions |
| A trunk roads | Welsh Government | Welsh Government’s Trunk Road Agents | Check Traffic Wales for the route and reporting or claim instructions |
| A county roads | Relevant local authority | The council or its appointed contractors | Use the GOV.UK postcode lookup to find the council |
| B roads | Relevant local authority | The council or its appointed contractors | Use the GOV.UK postcode lookup to find the council |
| C roads and minor surfaced roads | Relevant local authority | The council or its appointed contractors | Use the GOV.UK postcode lookup to find the council |
The Welsh Government’s road-length release for April 2025 to March 2026 reports 1,707.2 km (1,060.8 miles) of strategic roads, described in its pothole methodology as about 5% of the Welsh network. It reports 33,535.5 km (20,838 miles) of local roads, about 95%. Those are published network figures for that methodology, not a separate measurement of every road defect.
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What the Trunk Road Agents do
North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent (NMWTRA) and South Wales Trunk Road Agent (SWTRA) carry out operation, maintenance and related work for Welsh Government’s strategic roads. They are operational agents, not a different highway authority. If you need to establish legal responsibility, treat Welsh Government as the authority even when an agent, contractor or traffic-management team is working at the site.
Why “A road” is not enough information
An A road can be either an A trunk road controlled by Welsh Government or an A county road controlled by a council. Before reporting a pothole or seeking vehicle-damage compensation, identify which category applies. A road number, nearby junction, direction of travel and the town or county will help the receiving organisation locate the correct section.
Road works and street works are different
People often call every excavation, barrier or resurfacing project “roadworks”. Welsh Government’s Road and Street Works Strategy uses two distinct terms.
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Road works are usually carried out by a highway authority to repair, maintain or replace the highway. “Highway” includes the carriageway as well as a footway or pavement. Resurfacing, repairing a failed edge, replacing a damaged kerb and fixing a footway can therefore be highway road works.
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Street works
Street works are carried out by statutory undertakers, section 50 licensees or their contractors to install, inspect, maintain, repair or replace apparatus in or under the street. Utility companies such as gas and electricity providers are common examples. A utility trench outside a home may be the utility’s street work even though the highway authority remains responsible for the road as a highway.
Who coordinates a work site?
Under the framework described in the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and Traffic Management Act 2004, highway authorities coordinate and manage works on their network. Coordination does not change who performed the work or who owns the apparatus. A council may control traffic management and reinstatement standards while a utility remains responsible for its pipe, cable or excavation.
For a defect in the road surface, report the highway problem to the authority for that road. If the problem is an open utility excavation, a failed reinstatement or exposed utility apparatus, identify the utility or statutory undertaker as well; the highway authority may still need to be told so it can coordinate or enforce the relevant street-works requirements.
How to report a pothole or other highway defect
Local roads: use the postcode route
- Open the GOV.UK “Report a pothole” service.
- Enter the postcode for the road location in Wales.
- Follow the result to the local council responsible for that road.
- Describe the defect precisely, including its position and travel direction.
- Keep the reference or confirmation supplied by the council.
This route is intended for local-road potholes and helps avoid sending a report to the wrong council. If the postcode sits near a boundary, provide the road name, nearest landmark and any marker-post number so the authority can identify the exact section.
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Motorways and A trunk roads: check Traffic Wales
For a Welsh motorway or A trunk road, check whether Traffic Wales manages the route and use the reporting channel or instructions shown for it. The relevant Trunk Road Agent may receive the operational report, but that does not make the agent the highway authority.
Information that makes a report actionable
- Road name and number, if known.
- Nearest junction, house, landmark or marker post.
- Direction of travel and lane or side of the road.
- A clear description of the pothole, surface failure, standing water, damaged cover or footway defect.
- Whether the defect creates an immediate hazard to vehicles, cyclists or pedestrians.
- The date and time you observed it, plus safe photographs if you can take them without entering a dangerous area.
Do not put yourself in traffic to obtain evidence. On motorways, GOV.UK compensation guidance specifically warns that visiting or photographing the location can amount to criminal trespass. Use information you can gather safely, such as a nearby sign, junction or journey record.
If a pothole damages your vehicle
A vehicle-damage claim is separate from a defect report. The organisation to contact depends on the road’s location and type. For most Welsh A roads and motorways, GOV.UK directs claimants to Traffic Wales when it manages the damaged road. For other Welsh roads, it directs them to the relevant local council.
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Prepare the details the claim route asks for
- Describe the vehicle damage and the circumstances in which it occurred.
- Explain why you believe the organisation is responsible for that section of road.
- Give the specific location: road number, direction, lane, nearby junction or landmark and, where available, a marker post.
- State the date and time of the incident.
- Keep repair estimates, invoices, photographs and any witness or breakdown details that support the account.
Submitting a claim through the correct route does not mean compensation is guaranteed. The guidance explains where to send the claim and what information to provide; it does not establish that every reported pothole creates liability or that every claim will succeed.
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How many potholes are being fixed?
Welsh Government announced on 2 February 2026 that, since April 2025 under the Local Government Borrowing Initiative, around 171,000 potholes had been fixed or prevented across 324 miles of local roads. The same release reported more than 30,000 potholes fixed or prevented over more than 65 miles of strategic roads.
Those headline figures require careful interpretation:
- They cover work funded through the specified programme, not every pothole repaired by every organisation in Wales.
- The strategic-network total combines management information for funded repairs with modelled estimates of potholes prevented.
- Welsh Government does not hold a central count of all local-authority potholes. The local-network figure is estimated using resurfaced road lengths and a rate derived from strategic-network information.
- The published methodology calls the numbers broad estimates, not definitive Wales-wide totals.
- Welsh Government says the programme data are not official statistics and have not undergone the validation and data-quality checks used for official statistics.
Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, said in the 2 February 2026 release: “Fixing our roads is a priority for this government.” The statement describes a policy priority, not a promise that an individual defect will be repaired immediately.
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The 2025–26 road-condition survey found that 7.3% of the motorway network and 2.1% of the trunk-road network required close monitoring of structural condition. Structural condition describes the health of the road construction and the need for monitoring. It is not a count of potholes, a list of defects awaiting repair or a safety assessment of an individual road section.
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A road can have a sound overall structure and still contain a dangerous isolated defect. Conversely, a section requiring structural monitoring is not necessarily full of visible potholes. Use the survey percentages as network-level condition information, not as a prediction about the exact road outside your home.
Who is responsible for roadworks outside my house?
When it is a council or Welsh Government highway project
Look for the work notice, site board or traffic-management information. If the road is a local A county, B, C or minor surfaced road, the local authority is the highway authority. If it is a motorway or A trunk road, Welsh Government is the highway authority, with NMWTRA or SWTRA and their contractors carrying out operations.
When it is a utility excavation
Gas, electricity, water, telecommunications and other statutory undertakers may be working on apparatus beneath the street. Ask which utility has the permit or works notice and report problems with the excavation or reinstatement to that utility as well as the highway authority where appropriate. A utility’s responsibility for its apparatus does not transfer the highway authority’s overall responsibility for the public highway.
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Start with the road classification and location rather than the appearance of the work. The GOV.UK pothole postcode service can identify the council for local roads. For a motorway or A trunk road, check Traffic Wales. Then describe whether you are reporting a surface defect, a footway problem, a road closure, a trench or utility apparatus. That wording helps the receiving body route the issue to the correct team.
A practical decision checklist
- Identify the road. Record the number, name, town or county, direction and nearest landmark.
- Classify it. Is it a motorway, A trunk road, A county road, B road, C road or minor surfaced road?
- Choose the authority. Welsh Government covers motorways and A trunk roads; the local council covers the other categories.
- Identify the work type. A highway repair is road work; utility apparatus or an excavation is street work.
- Use the correct channel. GOV.UK postcode lookup for local roads; Traffic Wales for the relevant strategic route.
- If there is vehicle damage, make a separate claim. Include damage, location, date and time, and why you believe the organisation is responsible.
- Stay safe. Never enter a live carriageway or motorway to inspect or photograph a defect.
Bottom line for Welsh road users
Responsibility follows classification, not the word “A” on a road sign and not the contractor’s logo on a vehicle. Welsh Government is responsible for motorways and A trunk roads, with its Trunk Road Agents operating them. Councils are responsible for A county, B, C and minor surfaced roads. A utility may be responsible for street works while the highway authority remains responsible for the highway and coordination. Use the postcode lookup or Traffic Wales to report the defect, and treat any vehicle-damage claim as a request for assessment rather than an automatic entitlement to compensation.
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