Borough roads named among best as £3m funding welcomed
Figures published by the Department for Transport shows that only three per cent of A roads and two per cent of B and C roads in Wigan borough are in need of repair.
Earlier this year the leader of Wigan Council announced an extra £3.3m would be invested into repairing the roads, topping up the £5.1m received in government capital funding.
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Hide AdThe council’s cabinet member for environment, Coun Carl Sweeney, said: “More than £8m is due to be spent over the next two years resurfacing and fixing the borough’s roads.
“Our targeted investment programme is essential and will ensure teams continue to manage the condition of our roads and enable the council to deliver an effective and sustainable network to our residents.”
The borough is now joint second across Greater Manchester for the percentage of classified A roads needing repairs and joint top when it comes to B/C classified roads
After listening to residents, the council recognised the importance of ensuring the borough’s roads are fit for the future.
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Hide AdThe size of the task facing Wigan Council should not be underestimated with the highway teams currently maintaining around 1,160km of roads and spends around £1m on fixing around 13,000 highway minor defects, including potholes, each year. It also manages 2,000km of footway, 58,000 drainage gullies and 36,500 streetlights.
Coun Sweeney added: “The recently published data shows the strong position that Wigan borough is in among Greater Manchester and the north west when it comes to the state of our roads.
“For classified roads, made up of A, B and C classification roads, the borough is top performing within Greater Manchester for the low percentage of roads that have been assessed as being in need of maintenance soon.
“Despite feeling the effects of the pro-longed wet and cold wintery weather conditions in early 2018, the results highlight the excellent job that the council’s highway teams are doing across the 1,160km of roads they are expected to maintain.”
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Hide AdThe next upcoming schemes to be undertaken in November and moving into the New Year include:
November:
Central Drive - Shevington
Common Lane - Leigh
Taylor Road/Taylor Grove - Hindley Green
Smethurst Lane - Pemberton
St Marys Way - Leigh
Broadwell Drive - Leigh
Start of 2020:
A49 Wallgate - Wigan
A58 Bolton Road/Lily Lane - Bamfurlong
A571 Wigan Road - Billinge
A573 Warrington Road - Ince
A577 Darlington Street - Wigan
A577 Corner Lane/Smallbrook Lane - Hindley Green
A578 Twist Lane - Leigh
A578 Wigan Road - Leigh
A580 East Lancashire Road (Liverpool Bound) - Golborne
B5238 Scot Lane - Aspull
Heath Street - Golborne
Hall Lane - Hindley
North Road - Atherton
For future reference and more information on the planned programme of work, visit: www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Parking-Roads-Travel/Roads/Highway-maintenance