{"id":63926,"date":"2024-09-06T15:00:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T14:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=63926"},"modified":"2024-09-06T15:00:27","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T14:00:27","slug":"road-repairs-accelerated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/road-repairs-accelerated\/","title":{"rendered":"Road repairs accelerated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Road repairs have accelerated with the help of \u00a310 million extra funding that we invested in our roads budget this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a report before the Full Council meeting this week, (Thursday 5 September), Councillor Stuart Hughes, Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said the County Council’s investment had enabled \u201ca significant scaling-up\u201d to tackle repairs on the county\u2019s road network. He praised the efforts being made by highways teams as delivery had been \u201cgathering pace\u201d over the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since April, more than 18,000 square metres of road have been patched in over 350 locations across the county. These repairs have targeted sections of road which are deteriorating, patching extensive areas before potholes or safety defects form.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Councillor Hughes said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n \t\t

\u201cThe extra money we added to the roads budget is enabling us to go further and faster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past four months the patching repairs that have been undertaken are already the equivalent of around 80% of the patching achieved for the whole of the last financial year. That highlights the difference this additional funding is making.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we still need more funding from central Government to have a bigger impact on the condition of our 8,000-mile road network which is vital to our local economy. We currently have a highway maintenance backlog of \u00a3200 million in Devon which is increasing by \u00a315 million per year, and the national backlog is at a record high of \u00a316.3 billion.<\/p>\n

“The last two winters and the extreme rainfall in the first half of this year have caused a huge amount of damage to our roads. Extensive work is being carried out on all categories of roads right across the county, and while we won\u2019t be able to get to every road in need of repair, we\u2019re ensuring our extra investment goes as far as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n

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\r\n Councillor Stuart Hughes, Cabinet Member for Highway Management<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Patching schemes which have been completed include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Ashburton (Old Totnes Road)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Barnstaple (St Georges Road)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Beaford (Road from the Old Parsonage to Upcott Farm)\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Bideford (Royston Road)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Bradworthy (Road from Stowford Cross to Bradworthy Mill)\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Dawlish (Shutterton Lane)\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Exeter (Palace Gate)\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Exmouth (Union Street)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Great Torrington (School Lane)\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Hemyock (Station Road)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Ilfracombe (Queens Avenue)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Newton Abbot (Birch Road)\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Ottery St Mary (Ridgeway)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Pinhoe (Mayfield Road)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Silverton (Exeter Road)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Totnes (Coronation Road)\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Uffculme (Chapel Hill)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Whimple (Chard Avenue)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Dragon patchers have been used on double-shifts to complete more than 5,250 patches, covering over 33,000 square metres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And a new carbon saving road repair material, called Elastomac, has been used to repair around 7,000 square metres of Devon\u2019s roads following successful trials on small to medium size patches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Elastomac is a surfacing material which is partly made of recycled road planings and recycled tyres. It reduces waste and carbon emissions while also being quicker to cure than traditional material used in pothole repairs, reducing traffic disruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Around \u00a32 million of the funding is being invested in drainage improvements, while over 10km of double white lines have also been refreshed along with road markings at 175 roundabouts and 197 zebra crossings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This year\u2019s wet spring accounted for levels of potholes recorded between April and July being 54% higher than the same time last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To tackle potholes, we also invested an extra \u00a32 million in highway revenue funding this year, on top of the \u00a310 million capital funding. This has helped contribute to the repair of more than 47,500 potholes across the county so far this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The \u00a312 million injection from Devon County Council is in addition to the \u00a359.486 million of funding Devon has received from the Department for Transport (DfT) for its highway maintenance programme this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The annual major resurfacing programme for the A-road network in the county is also currently underway. Among these schemes, work on the A3072 Three Meadows to Highampton has been completed, the A377 Copplestone is due to be carried out this month (September) and the A3052 Harepath Hill in Seaton is scheduled for repairs in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Councillor Hughes also highlighted how our Highways Service is working closely with the Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC) to provide an overview of the key areas of the service. A series of events is being held with town and parish councils covering a variety of issues such as understanding roadworks and how roads are maintained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":54013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[986],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roads-and-transport"],"acf":[],"featured_image":{"ID":54013,"title":"Road works","alt":"Highway maintenance team laying the top layer of a road in 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