Powys County Council has had to take £2.6 million out of its 2020 £5 million annual road, bridge and street lighting repairs budget.
All departments have been asked to make savings to help protect the council’s finances during the pandemic to make sure this year’s budget is reached.
The money take out of highways still should be available as funding for the Highways Asset Management Plan (HAMP), in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years, according to the council, reports Newtown.co.uk.
The money forms forms part of an overall 10 year programme worth over £50 million to deal with infrastructure maintenance, which was approved in February.
Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cllr Heulwen Hulme, said: “Going back to last February, we set out our capital strategy for highways for the next 10 years. Whilst the £5m HAMP, approved by Cabinet and set out in the capital strategy, will slow the rate of the deterioration. It will nonetheless continue to deteriorate, and the service’s road condition performance indicator will continue to widen from the Welsh average. Powys is currently ranked 22nd (of 22 Welsh local authorities) for its road conditions. We also have a number of bridge structures that are in need of work”
One of the bridges is at Glasbury and carries the A438 across the river Wye . It will need to be replaced in the next five to eight years at the cost estimate of over £6 million.
