As spring arrives Walsall Council is kicking off its highway maintenance programme, investing £6.4m improving the borough’s network — an increase of almost £600k on 2021/22. This follows Walsall’s Cabinet approving a 43% increase in road safety and active travel funding at its meeting on 16 March.
Walsall Council has seen its government funding for highway maintenance increase from £3m to £3.6m based on a new 5-year settlement for the West Midlands Combined Authority area. In addition to Department for Transport funding, since 2017 the Council has invested up to £2.8m of its own capital each year to boost the highway maintenance programme. This commitment to highway maintenance means that less than 2% of the borough’s classified road network is now considered to be in a poor condition — an improvement on both the national and regional average.
Speaking about the investment, Deputy Leader of Walsall Council, Councillor Adrian Andrew said:
“Highways are vital to our economy and enabling our residents to access work, education, friends and family. A well maintained network ensures journeys are safe and reliable and that is why this investment is such a priority. We welcome the additional funding from central government and the improvements it will allow us to deliver in the coming months.”
