£200M investment to fix England’s roads

Transport Minister Jesse Norman has announced a £200M fund, designed to help improve the condition of local roads across the UK.

Some £46M of the fund is dedicated to repairing up to one million potholes.

Of the £200M funding announced, some £151M will go to the local highways maintenance incentive fund, with £500,000 to fund a competition for connected technologies, and £4M for the Cycle Rail scheme, an extension to three cycle and walk to work pilot projects.

The funding was announced by the Transport Minister during a visit to York to view the progress of the innovative pothole spotter trial and a new e-bike.

The trial, which is running in York, Thurrock and Wiltshire, sees high-definition cameras fitted to bicycles, buses and bin lorries to monitor road conditions. It gives councils detailed information so they can fill potholes when they occur as well as plan resurfacing works and help prevent potholes and other road defects.

Roads Minister Jesse Norman said: “People need great roads to get about, do business and see friends and family.

“We’re investing record amounts at present to improve the condition of our roads, so drivers and cyclists don’t have to dodge potholes to travel safely.

“We’re also looking at how new innovations can help councils keep their roads in the best condition, saving money and planning their maintenance better.”

The £46M for pothole repair is in addition to the £75M Pothole Action Fund already given to councils outside of London this year. The £250M Pothole Action Fund was announced in the 2016 Budget and will fix more than four million potholes by 2020/21.

The next round of the local highways maintenance incentive fund was also launched with £151M available to reward councils for efficiently planning roads maintenance. This money is part of just over £6Bn awarded to authorities to help keep their roads in a good condition.

Finally, a £4M investment will enable the government’s Cycle Rail Programme to continue. The project pays for high quality cycle parking to be built at stations, which has resulted in bike journeys at participating stations increase by nearly 40%. Since 2012, the Department for Transport has invested almost £35M to build cycle facilities at stations, including cycle hubs which are secure and have retail and repair facilities.

The pilot Cycling and Walking to Work fund will also be extended by six months, with Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Liverpool benefitting from a share of £1.6M.

 

 

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