Council approves £61m road improvement package

Cabinet member for highways and transport Rupert Swarbrick said he wanted to thank people for their patience

Councillors have approved plans to invest more than £61m in improving Lancashire's roads over the next year.

The spending package was signed off at Lancashire County Council's cabinet.

Rupert Swarbrick, the cabinet member for highways and transport, said improving roads "is our number one priority".

"This significant investment reaffirms our commitment to ensuring that Lancashire's roads – which support more than 4.6 million journeys every day – are safe, reliable, and fit for purpose for everyone," he added.

He said the authority would be spending £45m over the next three years on top of their 2025/26 allocation from the Department for Transport.

"This funding will allow us to plan and execute more comprehensive improvements, addressing both immediate repairs and proactive maintenance," Swarbrick continued.

The authority said the funding meant they could continue to focus on maintaining everything from roads and bridges to traffic signals and streetlights on a preventative basis, before repairs became more costly.

The figure includes a grant of nearly £47m from the Department for Transport, in addition to £15m for 2025/26 from the council which would be used to boost the number of resurfaced roads.

An additional £45m has also been pledged by the authority over the next three years as part of its 2025/26 budget.

The council said that around £28m had been earmarked to repair potholes and other structural defects, while around £20m was available to invest in road and footpaths.