March 26, 2018 4.22 pm This story is over 78 months old

£3.4m funding boost for Lincolnshire pothole repairs

Much-needed pothole funding.

Potholes on Nettleham A46 | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Lincolnshire County Council now has more than £12 million to spend on pothole repairs after receiving an additional £3.4 million from the government’s pothole action fund.

The county council previously earmarked £9 million for this financial year, 2018/19 and this latest funding boost means additional staff can be hired to tackle a problem concerning many local people.

Lincolnshire’s allocation of this extra funding is the third highest sum in the country, only behind North East Combined Authority (£4.5m) and Devon (£4.4m).

Executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council Councillor Richard Davies said: “The weather has been a nightmare for the county’s roads this winter, but it’s reassuring that central government has recognised the scope of the issues we’re facing here in Lincolnshire at the moment.

“We’ve already brought in additional teams to help deal with the extra workload, and this £3.4million means we can be even more proactive in bringing our roads closer to the standard we like them to be in.

“We’re also finalising our Lincolnshire Pothole Plan at the moment, which will overview key problem areas around the county, as well as our revised approach to dealing with potholes, including the technologies we use.”

These additional funds bring the total investment in Lincolnshire roads to £37.4 million for 2018/19.

Councillor Davies added: “With 5,500 miles of road to maintain, we’ll be sure to make every penny count towards keeping the county’s roads in the best possible condition with the cash that’s available.

“While this extra funding is very welcome, it is nowhere near the £300 million backlog of repairs we have here in the county. This is why we are always lobbying government for additional funding for Lincolnshire.”