A major investment of £30 million will be made to improve and maintain the county’s highways and footways in the next year.
In the budget for 2021/22, which was approved in February’s Full Council meeting, the County Council made the committed to invest capital funds to further improve Worcestershire’s road and footway network.
In the last year, 200km of road schemes have been completed and this is set to increase again in the next year, according to the council.
Highways will see an increase in investment, with £6 million being added to the extra investment that was allocated in the last year. Over 250 schemes are planned for next year, which is equivalent to 85km of further footway improvement.
The new funding will also help to continue the progress made this year on footway improvements, which saw over 215 schemes to introduce new or improve current footways – this totalled more than 70km of upgraded footways.
This year’s budget will see funding once again increase for footways, as £4 million has been allocated, on top of the £4 million extra invested in the last year.
Councillor Alan Amos, Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways, said: “The investment that the council has committed, as part of this budget, to improve and maintain our highways and footways is great to see.
“Improvements to highways has been one of our residents’ top priorities for many years now and this budget showcases our commitment to keeping Worcestershire moving and ensuring our roads are safe for everyone to use.”
Extra investment will also be made to continue the programme of updating street lighting, with an additional £2.5 million allocated and similarly, £2.5 million has been made available this year for highway drainage, which includes maintaining 104,000 gullies. Around £10 million has been allocated towards the Council’s Cutting Congestion programme to deliver the schemes planned at A38 Upton, Bromsgrove, Evesham and Kidderminster.
County Council members capital highways fund has extended for a further year into 2021/22 giving local members a further £1.25 million commitment to address local highways issues. There has also been a further £25,000 earmarked from strategic initiatives to ensure highway safety markings and signage continues to improve across the county.
