Potholes to be tackled in Blackburn

Blackburn and Darwen Council is launching a multi-million pound ‘Invest to Save’ programme in an effort to clear the backlog of repairs on its roads.

The borough will borrow £6.5 million to help pay for the four-year project to resurface main routes and fix potholes.

The local authority currently has a 100-mile backlog of highway repairs. It is aiming to clear this by 2017.

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, highways and regeneration boss Maureen Bateson, said: “This is a major four year programme costing £17.5 million.

“It will use the latest resurfacing technology to deal with the backlog of maintenance to make sure that our roads in good condition and remove the potholes that are such an irritation to our residents.

“Rather than concentrating on emergency repairs this is a targeted programme to resurface the defective areas of our roads and seal others against water penetration, reducing costs in future years.

“It is good sense to borrow the money now and make the roads fit for the coming 10 to 20 years.

“We currently repair the worst 1,000 potholes a month. This will dramatically reduce the number we need to fill in future and cut motorists' repair bills.

“Water penetration and freezing of that water are the major cause of potholes and other highway surface problems.

“It will reduce the £2.5 million a year we currently spend each year on highway maintenance and it fits in with out plans to regenerate the town centre."

£10.1m has been allocated for the project. This comprises of the £6.5m loan and specific Government grants for major highways work.