A new £60 million Pothole Fund has been created by Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig to repair more of the city region’s roads and pavements.
The fund, to be spent across every borough in Greater Manchester, will be a major boost to efforts to tackle the pothole problem. It will be enough to repair and maintain over a million square metres – or around 125 kilometres – of road.
Around 2.5 billion trips are made on Greater Manchester’s roads every year – not only by motorists, but also buses, trams, cyclists and pedestrians.
The fund will be used to help keep our highways network safe and reliable, enabling transport teams to repair hotspots where surfaces are in poor condition, as well as resurface roads and pavements to prevent them from deteriorating in the first place.
The Mayor’s new fund will be a major boost to Greater Manchester’s 10 councils, with the amount each will receive based on an agreed funding formula. The £60 million is more than the annual budget the councils get collectively from central government each year to maintain their roads and pavements.
The extra cash comes from the city region’s transport budget, with leaders agreeing to reallocate funding towards highways maintenance. It fulfils a commitment Bev made to repair more roads and make sure pavements are safe as part of her mayoral manifesto.
Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“Keeping our roads and pavements safe and well maintained is essential for a growing city region like Greater Manchester. That’s why I promised to create this new Pothole Fund that will benefit drivers and everyone who uses our roads to get around.
“Properly maintaining our roads will save motorists money on costly repairs. And by preventing potholes forming in the first place, councils won’t have to spend as much money on emergency road repairs.
“This issue came up repeatedly on the doorstep during my election campaign so I’m pleased that I can do something about it so quickly, building on the significant work already planned by councils across Greater Manchester.
“It’s all part of my commitment to make getting around Greater Manchester easier, safer and more reliable, no matter how people choose to travel.”
(Picture: Transport for Greater Manchester)
