Dorset council pledges £10m more for road maintenance

Dorset Council said measures would include more pothole repairs, resurfacing and preventative treatments

A council has pledged extra funding of about £10m to improve road maintenance.

Dorset Council said measures would include more pothole repairs, as well as resurfacing and preventative treatments to manage the condition of roads and maintain highway safety.

Ray Bryan, portfolio holder for highways, said the investment would help keep the network "in a good condition".

The council is allocating £6.03m from its own budget for highway maintenance.

It said this would be invested in proactive maintenance to preserve the condition of its roads.

Two grants of £2.068m will also be allocated from the Department for Transport (DfT) Network North fund, from reallocated HS2 government funding, for the years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.

This will be used, together with other maintenance and pothole funds, for carriageway maintenance, the council said.

Mr Bryan said: "This extra funding will help us speed up our programme, reaching more roads before cracking or potholes appear, fixing potholes or making bigger repairs.

"This investment will help us keep our network in a good condition and reduce the number of reactive repairs.

"It has been proven that early, preventative maintenance is the most cost-effective way to maintain roads."

The council added that it was awaiting confirmation of further government funding.

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