Local government is to receive a £215m boost for highways maintenance, after ministers revealed yesterday how they will split the additional capital fund announced in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement.
George Osborne committed £333m for ‘essential maintenance to renew, repair and extend the life of roads’.
The Department for Transport will provide £140m of this to councils during 2013/14 and a further £75m the following year. The remaining £118m will go to the Highways Agency to improve the national motorway network.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: ‘This extra money will support economic growth and development by helping local authorities to get the best out of their local road networks.
’This funding can be spent on measures to bring smoother, safer and more reliable journeys to the travelling public whether they are commuting to work or taking the children to school.’
