Published Thursday 3 March 2022 at 14:00
Roads across Blackburn with Darwen are set to be improved as part of a £5m scheme.
The funding – from the Government’s Department for Transport and contributions from new developments in the borough – will be invested into strategic improvements for highways and transport infrastructure – including roads, pavements, traffic signals, bridges and structures.
A number of major schemes have been outlined in the plan for 2022/23 – including a new link road, junction improvements and a boost to walking and cycling routes.
Plans for how the funding will be spent have been proposed in a report to the council’s Executive Board to be considered at a meeting on Thursday, March 10th.
Councillor Phil Riley, Executive Member for Growth and Development, said:
Improving and maintaining our highways is a top priority for the council – one that we know is really important to residents too.
£5m is a good amount of funding and it’ll allow us to undertake important improvement works and repairs over the coming year.
However, despite the hard work that our Highways Team does every year, Government funding cuts of £140m over the last decade have left us with a maintenance backlog that we estimate to be more than £55m.
The schedule of works we have developed for the next year looks to make the best use of the money we have and focus on the urgent works needed including repairing potholes.
As part of the council’s Climate Change Agenda, new on-street electric vehicle charging points could also be piloted as well as a new phase of work to transfer the borough’s street lights to LED.
The £5m has also be boosted by an extra £1.5m in the Council’s budget for environmental services and highways in 2022/23 – this will see roads re-painted and signage repaired.
Councillor Riley added:
We’ve listened to our residents and are investing in the things we know matter most – including improving and our highways and cleaning the streets.
Climate change is also right at the top of the priorities and the on-street electric vehicle charging points could make it easier for residents who want to make the switch away from fuel, but don’t have their own driveway.
The £5m will also allow us to continue our work to ensure our street lighting is transferred to LED – a much better option for the environment.
There’s some really good work to come over the next year which will improve the borough for our residents.
For the latest updates on highways works, be sure to follow BwD Roads on Facebook.