Well-maintained roads reduce the cost of operating vehicles by providing good running surface. Proper maintenance also keeps the roads open and ensures greater regularity, punctuality and safety of transport services.
Postponing road maintenance results in high direct and indirect costs. If road defects are repaired promptly, the cost is usually modest. But if defects are neglected, an entire road section may fail completely, requiring full reconstruction at three times or more the cost, on average, of maintenance costs.
Delayed maintenance has indirect costs as well. Neglected roads steadily become more difficult to use, resulting in increased vehicle operating costs (more frequent repairs, more fuel use) and a reluctance by transport operators to use the roads.