Preventative work has been one of the focuses for Shropshire County Council as part of its £11 million recent funding from the Department of Transport’s new Transport Infrastructure Investment Fund.

The funding will be added to the council’s 2020/21 highways budget of £12.6m, giving a total of £24m for this financial year.

Shropshire Council will now be able to continue to fix more potholes and other defects while undertaking more preventative work to stop potholes forming in the first place.

The council reports that since April 1 more than 6,000 potholes on the county’s roads have been repaired as the council’s highways team takes advantage of the reduction in traffic during the coronavirus lockdown, and the warmer weather.

Works have included traditional two-man gangs including new, innovative technologies such as texpatching, thermal patching, and jet patching, where possible. TexPatch is a hot screed applied thermoplastic material used to seal and repair larger road defects. It includes polymer modified bitumen, fillers, aggregates and fibres and is suitable for all asphalt surfaces. It is particularly suitable for use on black-top surfaces and can be used in ‘high-stress’ areas also.

Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We are delighted that the Government has recognised that Shropshire’s roads require increased central investment and we are pleased to have received this additional £11.6m of funding. We fully understand the frustrations of our residents concerning the number of potholes which have occurred on our roads this winter. This additional funding will enable us to continue our priority to repair them most effectively and help us prevent them for reoccurring next winter by protecting our roads against future damage.”