Over 1,000 highway schemes have been given the go ahead after councillors approved a £102m capital budget for highways and transport in Hertfordshire.
Between April 2023 and March 2024 more than 1,000 maintenance and improvement schemes will be delivered across Hertfordshire’s 3,200 miles of roads and pavements.
Planned works include repairs and maintenance to pavements, roads, bridges and traffic signals, as well as improvements such as tackling safety problems, reducing traffic congestion, and making walking and cycling more practical and attractive options.
This year’s highways funding includes £7m for smaller schemes that local county councillors have identified as important for their areas.
Cllr Phil Bibby, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “We know that the condition of the county’s pavements, cycleways and roads really matters to our residents, and it matters to us too. While we can’t do everything, this work programme, along with the regular repairs we do, will make a real difference across the county.
“We want Hertfordshire to have the infrastructure that our communities need, and it is essential that we maintain and improve our pavements, cycleways and roads. Our work programme supports our growing county, and invests in new active travel schemes to make it easier for people to choose to walk or cycle to their destinations.”
The Integrated Works Programme covers a full range of highway maintenance and improvement schemes that the council undertakes each year. These schemes are in addition to the minor repairs and routine maintenance, such as fixing potholes, maintaining drains, and cutting grass verges, which are carried out throughout the year.
The works are prioritised in a number of ways. For maintenance works on carriageways we include a combination of roads – both those that need repairs because they are in a poor state now and those that need preventative maintenance work to avoid problems in the near future – while improvement schemes take into account factors like reducing accidents, tackling congestion and making it easier for people to walk, cycle or use public transport instead of their car.
The works programme is ‘integrated’ because, once we have established priorities, we look to see how those schemes can best be delivered together to increase efficiency and reduce disruption on the roads.
