£10.5m investment in Wirral’s roads

Wirral Council is investing £10.5 million in improving the borough’s highway and transport network.

The funding is made up of £1m from the council, with the remaining £9.5m secured by them from the Department for Transport (DfT).

Proposed spend – by constituency – is:

Wallasey: £585,980

Wirral West: £614,533

Wirral South: £813,268

Birkenhead: £749,249

Wirral’s entire 1,200km highway network and transport infrastructure is worth around £1.9 billion. In order to maintain it properly, the council has assessed the priorities for investment, and will start using the funds in those areas of highest need. This includes roads that are in constant need of repairs due to high volumes of traffic and specific roads highlighted by members of the public and ward councillors.

Councillor Stuart Whittingham, Wirral’s cabinet member for transport and technology infrastructure, said: “We have pledged to provide transport fit for the future and are investing significant levels of funding in highway infrastructure as part of the Wirral Growth Plan. Decent roads form the backbone of the economy and this huge investment will ensure local roads remain in good shape for many years to come, as well as improve road safety and journey reliability.

“This year sees the development of the first three-year programme approach to management of the network, so we are able to provide solutions to longer-term maintenance needs and secure extra government funds to spend on our local roads.”

Wirral Council has fixed 8,000 potholes on the borough’s streets in the past year, and this latest tranche of investment will include £2.2m for resurfacing works already allocated to specific roads. These will improve the life-span of the borough’s road surfaces and ensure they remain in a safe and serviceable condition.

The investment will see improvements and repairs taking place between now and 2019.