Over half a million allocated to upgrade the borough’s roads

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council have been awarded a total of £555,185 from the Department of Transport to improve the council’s traffic signal systems as part of ‘The Traffic Signal Obsolescence Grant’, which will have a positive effect on roads across the borough.

The Traffic Signal Obsolescence Grant (TSOG) is a £30 million fund to upgrade traffic signal systems, replacing unreliable and obsolete equipment to improve reliability. The challenge application process for bids was open between October and December 2023 and attracted 103 bids. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council were successful in achieving the full amount of funding they applied for.

Residents are likely to see a positive effect on the roads over the coming two years, as it will improve traffic systems across the borough, especially where they are soon to become obsolete, or where there are structural or communication issues with the signals equipment that need to be addressed.

Councillor Quesir Mahmood, Deputy Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council said:

This is fantastic news for everyone who lives, works or travels through our borough as they are going to see first hand, a huge improvement in our road systems. To achieve such a high level of funding from the Department for Transport is fantastic and I express my thanks to everyone who worked diligently on the bid.

The funding has been allocated against a set programme of works and will begin in the new financial year. Yunex, the traffic signals contractor will be delivering the scheme on behalf of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.