South Shropshire MP Philip Dunne has welcomed £1.3 million of government funding to help fix Shropshire’s potholes.
The Department for Transport has confirmed Shropshire will receive £1,335,000 in 2017/2018 to repair potholes on local roads, through the Pothole Fund. This is a £300,000 increase on the 2015/16 Pothole Fund allocation. The funding will complement the Highways Block Maintenance allocation for 2017/18 of £14,667,000.
Mr Dunne said: “Through both the Pothole Fund and the Highways Block Maintenance Shropshire will receive the second highest allocation in the West Midlands, which is great news for local motorists.
Potholes can cause damage to cars, and if not resolved quickly can spread and damage road surfaces. This funding will help Shropshire Council to act to fix more potholes on roads across the Ludlow Constituency, which has the largest road network of small roads in the county and one of the largest in England.
Shropshire Council implemented a new system for dealing with potholes in recent years, which seems to have improved our roads. I receive fewer complaints from constituents about the state of local roads. But maintaining rural roads, which can be badly affected by heavy agricultural and industrial traffic as well as bad weather, is a constant battle. So this funding is very welcome.”
Mr Dunne also welcomed the grant of £942,000 to assist development of a business case for the Shrewsbury North Western Relief Road – a link around the north west of Shrewsbury to cut congestion and improve connectivity.