POTHOLE PROGRESS
REVEALED: THE ROADS BEING RESURFACED IN YOUR AREA THANKS TO REALLOCATED HS2 FUNDING
A nationwide programme of pothole repairs and road resur- facing projects, made possible by the first tranche of £8.3 billion in reallocated HS2 funding, has been revealed - with the first set of roads already having been resurfaced. Last November, the Government announced unprecedented invest- ment to tackle badly surfaced roads and pothole ridden streets. Councils have already been paid £150 million to get on with the work and deliver improvements, with another £150 million following in this financial year. As a condition of this funding, and to make sure money is being spent on pothole repairs, local authorities are required to publish a two-year plan detailing exactly which local roads will benefit. On 10th April, the DfT revealed 102 of the 119 authorities that received funding have responded to the Department’s survey request to set out their plans, meaning local people can now check their local council’s websites and scrutinise their plans for themselves. Among the regions pledging to resurface the highest volume of roads are the West Midlands (600,000m2 (350,000m2
) and East Midlands ), with plans outlined
for problem spots including: the A43 at Towcester, the A164 between Beverley and Hessle, and the A4146 at Leighton Buzzard. Residents in areas such as South- port and Sunderland have already seen major resurfacing work take place, thanks to the £150 million already invested as part of the road resurfacing funding allocations through reallocated HS2 funding.
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An initiative to bring increased transparency to how councils deliver taxpayer-funded improvements, local people can now immediately see the benefits to their area made possible by reallocated HS2 funding, holding their local authority to account for delivering local road improvements. The DfT has been clear with those local authorities that have failed to publish reports that they could see the withdrawal of future funding to resurface roads. Local people are encouraged to check their auth- ority websites and see which roads are planned to be maintained. All of the £19.8 billion saved from the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in transport across the North, all of the £9.6 billion saved from the Midlands leg will be reinvested in transport across the Midlands, with the £6.5 billion saved through the new approach at Euston being spread across every other region in the country. Projects and improvements in the South and East of England are made possible by savings from Euston. Having submitted their first reports last month, councils will now also be required to submit quarterly reports from June, announcing work which has taken place over three months, meaning local people will now regularly be able to scrutinise the progress
their local authority is doing to tackle potholes. The Government’s long-term plan to improve local road networks across the country could save motorists up to £440 on vehicles repairs and is the biggest ever uplift in funding for local road improvements. The reporting requirement has not only shown the areas which are planned to
benefit, but also
highlighted how emerging techniques and equipment are being used by local authorities up and down the country to tackle potholes, including the use of durable carbon neutral material in South Yorkshire, industry leading ‘dragon patching’ equipment in Suffolk, innovative ‘pothole pro’ patching in Telford and Wrekin and artificial intelligence being used for highway inspections in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This Government is backing drivers, and alongside the unprecedented road maintenance funding, it is delivering for motorists through the Plan for Drivers, including ensuring traffic schemes like Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and 20mph speed limits have buy-in from local people, cutting congestion and accelerating the rollout of electric vehicle chargepoints. Motorists will also be able to enjoy smoother journeys following the introduction of new measures to crackdown on disruptive street works, with utility companies that allow works to overrun facing increased fines, which could generate up to £100 million extra to improve local roads.
MAY 2024 PHTM
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