How oil spike affects road repairs

Since the war in Iran broke out, oil prices have been rising and there has been much discussion about the price at the pump.

But what about the price of the pothole?

The rising cost of oil has trickled down to other oil based products like bitumen and tar and could impact on the cost of road maintenance here in Ireland, and just how many roads can be repaired.

Some local authorities have reported price increases of about 25% for road maintenance materials, and there is some concern that targets for this year may not be met in some cases.

In addition to funding from their own coffers, €718 million in State Road Grants has been allocated to local authorities for the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads around the country.

This work is heavily dependent on oil products and bitumen.

However, with rising costs, its difficult to say exactly how much ground this will cover.

The Department of Transport, who provides the funding, has said it "is aware that oil price increases may impact contracts, contract prices and outputs".

It is urging the local authorities to look within their contracts for solutions.

"Where applicable, mechanisms within contracts for price variation can be utilised by the contracting authorities," it said.

The issue was highlighted at last month's meeting of Louth County Council, which says it has seen "significant increases in the cost of raw materials".

In a statement to RTÉ News, the council said that "since the onset of the war in Iran, the cost of oil-based materials such as bitumen and asphaltic concrete (tar) has increased by approximately 25%".

It also said that between March and early April this year, polymer‑modified bitumen, which is used extensively for pothole repairs and resurfacing, has risen from approximately €600 per tonne to over €750 per tonne.

Every year, the council carries out a major resurfacing programme on about 80 kilometres of the 1550km road network in the county (excluding the M1 motorway) at a cost of about €9 million.

However, it has now warned that it does not expect to achieve its full 80km target this year, "as a result of these unprecedented cost pressures".

A further €4.3m is to be spent on general maintenance and repairs on potholes and drainage on regional and local roads.

Following a wet winter and a number of storms, 3,500 road defects were identified in the county in the first quarter of the year.

Around 3,000 repairs have been carried out so far, but Louth County Council says that repair costs are running "up to 20% over budget in some of the worst affected areas".

It's not just the price of oil-based materials adding to the pressure.

The local authority also cited haulage and energy costs as impacting on its ability to deliver road maintenance at previously planned levels.

"For context, approximately 40,000 tonnes of asphalt must be transported to sites across the county each year, and increases in fuel and haulage costs are having a direct and ongoing effect on overall delivery costs.

"The continued escalation in oil‑based material prices is expected to further impact the council's road repair and resurfacing programmes throughout 2026, as suppliers pass on increased production and transport costs," it said.

Existing funding 'insufficient'
Similar price rises have been felt by Monaghan County Council, which said it had experienced an approximate 25% increase in costs, "which is believed to be directly attributable to conflicts in the Middle East and the resulting increases in fuel and bitumen prices".

The scale of work to be done demands high levels of funding, before the current price issues are taken into account.

Monaghan received €17m from the Department of Transport this year for work on local and regional roads, and will also contribute an extra €5.8m from it's own budget.

More than a quarter of it's total annual budget is dedicated to road maintenance, with the council noting it has the second highest rural road network density in the country.

Local authorities use data called PSCI (pavement surface condition index) to monitor the condition of their road networks.

Roads are surveyed and given ratings from one (very poor) -10 (excellent).

From the most recent data last year, 397 kilometers of Monaghan's local and regional roads are in "poor or very poor condition"- this means roads that are susceptible to the formation of potholes.

This is almost double the national average.

The cost of fixing the 190km needed to bring it down to a national level, was previously estimated to cost €33m based on 2024 construction figures.

However, due to rising inflation, material and contractor costs mean this figure is now estimated at approximately €46m; a €13m increase in two years.

Monaghan County Council said that the current funding levels address "critical safety related defects and targeted rehabilitation works", but that existing funding levels are "insufficient to eliminate the maintenance backlog", or to "sustain the higher level of investment once roads are restored".

Increases would have 'direct effect'
More than a third of Cavan's road network (39.3%) also falls into the poor or very poor condition category, requiring structural or surface restoration.

Based on current construction rates, Cavan County Council estimates that funding of €234m would be needed to remediate the 1,140km of road in this category.

By contrast, the planned 55 km of roadwork on sections of the worst roads in the county this year, seems like a drop in the ocean.

"These works will focus on roads requiring structural and/or surface restoration and will contribute to addressing the most critically deteriorated elements of the network, subject to available funding," the council said.

The local authority said that the level of work carried out is funding dependent.

It will spend €3.4m from it's own budget on this work, along with a further €19m from the Department of Transport.

When it comes to rising costs, Cavan County Council said the overall costs are "substantially higher than pre 2018 levels", despite some decreases in the last two years.

With the ongoing conflict in the middle east, there is now uncertainty as to how it will impact budgets and the programme of work.

"There remains significant uncertainty regarding future price trends, particularly in light of the emerging US-Iran conflict and it's potential impact on global material and energy markets.

The council said that some of its suppliers have indicated they "may seek price variations under existing tenders due to increased costs".

The financial impact of this hasn't yet been quantified as the claims haven't been submitted or assessed, but its clear that increases will limit the amount of work that can be done.

"Any such increases would have a direct effect on the volume of road resurfacing works that can be delivered annually and would negatively impact the delivery of the roads programme".

Future rises will impact budgets
It keeps an uncosted pothole register, which is worked through "in order of severity, date and in accordance with available resources".

The council said that higher fuel costs have caused an increase in the overall cost of routine road maintenance and pothole repairs.

It agreed that that bitumen material used for the roadworks programme had gone up by about "25%", citing the "Iranian conflict", but the cost of pothole repair material had not increased this year.

"The uncertainty the war has created with regard to supply of the raw material required to produce the asphalt products is unpredicted", it said.

Despite this uncertainty, Meath County Council said that it is currently not affecting the delivery of it’s roadworks programme, but that the situation is kept under constant review.

While all this relates to the programmes for regional and local roads, one would expect the same cost and budgetary issues will exist at a national level.

This could mean that national bodies like the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) could have to request additional funding from the Department of Transport for required road maintenance.

The Irish Asphalt Paving Producers Association (IAPA) is an industry association representing 18 asphalt producers in Ireland, to promote the economic, technical and environmental benefits of asphalt paving in road construction and maintenance.

It said that in the current economic environment "characterised by hyperinflation in fuel and raw materials, the Irish asphalt industry, like many others, is facing significant challenges due to price fluctuations and disruptions to the supply chain".

"Consequently, this leads to higher costs for end users," it added.

Budgets have already been set for this year, and as the conflict continues, there is great uncertainty on whether this price volatility will cause budgets to run out of road.

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