Council to invest £35m in Telford and Wrekin’s highways and transport infrastructure
Telford and Wrekin’s highways and transport infrastructure is set to benefit from more than £35m as announced in Telford & Wrekin Council’s latest capital programme.
Roads, footpaths, parking, sustainable transport, street furniture, drains and structures are all set to have improvements delivered over the next two years.
Councillor Lee Carter, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood, Commercial Services and Regeneration (Lab) said:
“People won’t know but we have we have 626 miles of road, 743 miles of footpaths, 132 cycle ways, 20,000 street lights, 120 roundabouts, around 400 parks and open spaces and around 15 million trees to maintain which is a pretty big task - that’s not including all the reactive work we do like emergency repairs to maintain safety.
“It only takes a short drive out of Telford to see how well maintained the roads really are and my view is backed by the National Highways and Transport Network survey ranking Telford as one of the top areas in the country so our crews are already doing a top job.
“As Telford grows so does the demand on its infrastructure and investing now will pay dividends by extending the life of structures such as bridges, roads and footpaths – heading off costly replacements in the future.
“Accessibly is also a key part of the delivery plan ensuring that as many people as possible are able to travel for work, education and to leisure facilities and we will continue to deliver safe, efficient and sustainable highways to meet the needs of our businesses and communities.
“This investment of £35.067m will ensure everyone can benefit from a thriving economy and a s part of our cooperative council approach, 60 per cent of this spend will be locally including apprenticeships and local employment.”
Telford and Wrekin Council is been ranked one of the top areas in the country for overall satisfaction with highway and transport services and first in the West Midlands, as announced by the National Highways and Transport Network this year - despite a record 21per cent cut to funding it receives from Government to maintain local roads.
As part of the council’s four-year investment programme to ‘Protect, Care and Invest to create a better borough’, between 2020 and 2024 over £50m will be ploughed into keeping neighbourhoods safe, clean and well connected.
