Council commits nearly £40m to fixing roads

Herefordshire Council is responsible for more than 2,000 miles of roads across the county

Herefordshire Council has said it will commit £38.4m to improving roads across the county over the current financial year.

The local authority said about half of the money would come from the government and it would see an extra £10m spent, compared with the previous year.

The council is responsible for more than 2,000 miles of roads across the county and last year repaired some 25,000 potholes.

Councillor Barry Durkin, cabinet member for roads, said the £38.4m was in addition to the recent £107m Network North grant from the government for investment in Herefordshire's road network over the next 10 years.

It is also separate to the nearly £102m the county is getting from the Local Transport Fund, in the wake of the cancellation of the northern leg of the HS2 project.

Councillor Barry Durkin said the condition of roads was a huge priority for local residents

The county secured a further £2.6m last year specifically for improvements to 30 minor C and U-class roads – a programme of work that has just finished.

This has improved more than 133,000 sq m of road surface since November, equivalent to 15 football pitches, the council said.

Further surface dressing on about 470,000 sq m of priority roads is now planned over the summer.

Mr Durkin said: "The condition of our roads is a huge priority for local residents and organisations.

"We have delivered on our promise to improve connectivity and links between our rural communities."

He added that surface dressing was "the most cost-effective use of funding" and could "extend the life of the road surface by up to 10 years".

The council said decisions on which roads were prioritised for maintenance were based on "robust data on the severity of the issues".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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