Council to spend £20m to improve city's roads

Coventry City Council says it will invest almost £20m on fixing the city's roads over the next year

Coventry City Council is to spend almost £20m improving roads and pavements over the next financial year.

The plans cover more than 160 projects – including improved flood protection as well as road safety schemes.

The money will be used to improve the worst-affected roads and pavements, including repairing potholes, the council says.

It said it planned to carry out the work on a “worst first” basis.

The council said it would also invest in repairing kerb lines, improving junctions and installing bollards and lay-bys.

The hope is that these measures will help extend the life of existing road repairs.

The authority also hopes the work will help prepare the city’s road network for the Coventry Very Light Rail scheme, all-electric buses and more fully-segregated cycle-ways.

'Welcome boost'

Councillor Patricia Hetherton, cabinet member for city services, said: “I think all residents will welcome this city-wide programme of improvements to the worst affected roads, pavements and drains.

“The additional funding is a welcome boost and we will target it to help provide reliable transport routes that make it as easy as possible, especially for vulnerable for people, to continue getting out and about in their local areas.”

She said the investment wasn’t enough to fund everything the council wanted to do, so leaders would continue to call for further investment from central government.

“The programme ties in the council’s wider aims to tackle climate change by improving traffic flow, reducing congestion and supporting the decarbonisation of the transport system,” she added.

The work will be finished by the end of March 2025, the council said.