£12m to be invested improving Telford streets and highways
Telford & Wrekin Council is to invest £12m in another 222 improvement schemes across the borough.
The investment which is part of the Council's Pride in Our Community scheme includes road safety schemes around schools, the creation of another 200 residential parking spaces in local neighbourhoods, road improvements, footpath improvements, drainage works as well as work on highways structures such as bridges.
Improvements to the A442, A5223 and a number of key roundabouts are among the more major schemes which will take place over the next 12 months.
Telford & Wrekin Council says the projects are being undertaken are in response to issues raised by residents, elected councillors and local town and parish councils or as part of the Council’s rolling maintenance work.
The Council’s new contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places will be sole contractor working on highways improvement projects from 1 April 2019, providing residents with a more consistent and visible presence in the community.
As part of the contract, Balfour Beatty has committed to clean out all 33,000 drains in the borough in just 12 months, which under the existing contract takes two and a half years to do. Each of the drains will be digitally mapped with silt levels recorded so that an intelligence-based cleaning programme can be implemented going forward.
Innovative approaches, new technology, keeping it local and improving customer satisfaction are other key features of Balfour Beatty’s approach to working in the borough. Its aim will be on getting it right first time, and in doing so saving the borough £1.4m over the seven years of the contract.
Councillor Shaun Davies, leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, said: “The condition of our roads are way better than the regional and national averages, which is something to be proud of. Our aim for the coming year is to work with our new partner Balfour Beatty to make further improvements that keep traffic flowing so we can all go about our daily routines and our economy can continue to thrive.”
Paul Raynor, contract manager for Balfour Beatty, said: “We are delighted to be working in close partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council from the 1 April this year to deliver this major investment programme that will see additional improvements to the roads and footpaths across the borough. Our aim is to continue working closely with the council to deliver on our promises and commitments of a ‘right first time’ approach whilst driving continuous improvement throughout the duration of the contract.”
