£60m worth of road improvements in pipeline for Staffordshire network

The county council said an £45m will be invested in maintaining and improving highways over the next three years and a further £15m will be ploughed into purchasing a pothole filling machine and for the crew.

A new cabinet report said under the proposal there will be 20 road building scheme earmarked for the next two years, more than 450 preventative carriageway maintenance schemes in the next 12 months and more than £1m will be spent on drain repairs. 

Money will also be spent on extra crews to tackle drainage and flooding issues and taking enforcement action against landowners who fail to remedy water drainage onto the highway resulting in damage. 

Staffordshire County Council strategic highways boss Councillor Mark Deaville said: “Good roads affect everyone in this county, which is why having a strategic plan of maintenance and improvements is key to keeping our highways in a decent condition and safe for all users.

 “The extra money invested last year has really paid dividends, in that we were able to come out of the wettest winter on record and put a concerted effort into fixing more roads. Building on this, we want to invest more money into tackling potholes, drainage and the effects that warmer, wetter winters are having on our roads. Added to this, our structural renewal programme is going from strength to strength, with many new projects scheduled for 2025/26.

 “Climate change and the effect it is having on our roads means we must also prepare for more extreme weather events. Therefore, this funding will also be used to address longer term issues, including enforcement on landowners with drainage assets affecting the highways.

 “The extra money we are investing means we will be able to build on last year’s successful programme, fix more roads and really make a difference to local people.”

 The recommendations will be discussed by the cabinet  on March 19.