The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that Warrington is to receive £2.9m to improve its highways, following a successful funding bid from the council.
The ‘Local Highway Maintenance Challenge’ funding will be used to improve the condition and resilience of the local highway network, and will include nine carriageway resurfacing schemes, bridge repairs and vital drainage repairs. Works are being planned to start as soon as possible.
It follows the ongoing success of Warrington’s £40m Highway investment programme, launched in 2016, with the council recently achieving the milestone of completing 200 road surfacing schemes, across the borough, in the past four years.
As part of the programme – set up to improve the condition of Warrington’s roads and footways – the council’s Engineering and Flood Risk Team has also carried out over 150 footway resurfacing schemes.
The programme has seen the council meet its commitment to allocate funding and carry out road and/or footway improvements in all of Warrington’s 22 wards.
Warrington Borough Council Leader, Cllr Russ Bowden, said: “Our highways network is vital to our ongoing growth, new business development, and our economic success. That’s why it’s crucial that we continue to invest in it.
“Upgrading and renewing road infrastructure relies heavily on funding of this nature, so it’s great news that we’ve been successful with this bid. It will allow us to build on the great work already undertaken to improve our highways network and ensure our residents and businesses can continue to prosper in a vibrant, thriving town.”
Warrington Borough Council’s cabinet member for highways, transportation and public realm, Cllr Hans Mundry, said: “Almost every resident, worker and visitor to Warrington uses our highway network on a daily basis and we are home to around 8,000 businesses, employing 115,000 people. This means a high volume of traffic, contributing to accelerated wear and tear of our roads.
“I’m delighted we’ve secured this funding. It will allow us to deliver even more projects to reduce congestion, improve safety and keep Warrington moving – all important parts of our long term vision for our town’s success.”
The council is also making good progress in responding to the challenges of climate change and the impact of increased storms and flooding on roads and properties. The Engineering and Flood risk team has successfully achieved £2.1M of external funding since 2012, delivering 28 Flood Risk schemes.
This includes the council leading a collaborative project involving United Utilities and Environment Agency to reduce flood risk at Densham Avenue. Grant funding of £400,000 has been secured to deliver a project in late summer which will minimise flood risk.
As well as the award of the ‘Local Highway Maintenance Challenge’ funding, the council’s strong performance means it has also been successful in achieving Band 3 Status with the Department for Transport, which entitles Warrington to £570,000 (the maximum level of Highway Investment funding available) for the past three years.
