Bridge repairs funding secured
03 Mar 2020 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
The council has successfully secured £3.7 million in national funding to improve the county’s bridges.
The council successfully bid for a share of £93 million from the government’s national Highway Maintenance Challenge Fund after local authorities were challenged to put forward schemes which could make a real difference to road users.
There were 32 successful bidders across the country but the County Council is the only local authority in the region to have secured three successive awards from the Fund. These successful bids have brought in over £14m of additional Department for Transport funding for highway maintenance to the County over the last 5 years.
The funding, combined with a further £1.1 million input from the council, will see eight bridges fully repainted and repaired. These are:
C172 Alwinton Bridge
B6319 Haydon Bridge
B6341 Hepple
A1068 Lesbury
C202 Redesmouth
A697 Weldon River Bridge
B6461 Whiteadder
C254 Wylam River Tyne.
Works will largely be carried out this summer, although some may continue into 2021 as painting works over rivers can only be done over the summer.
Glen Sanderson, the County Council’s Cabinet member for Environment and Local Services: “It’s fantastic to have secured this Government funding boost for the third successive round of the funding.
“Combined with our Local Transport Plan funding for the coming year along with the extra £10 million we’re injecting into rural road repairs, that’s over £30 million we’re spending on improving our highway network.
“These bridges are vital crossing points for communities, businesses and tourists and we need to keep them in good condition.
“We can now plan the detailed work before we start the restoration process over the summer.”
Roads Minister Baroness Vere added: “There is nothing more frustrating than a journey delayed by poor road conditions, and this multi-million pound boost will help improve connectivity across the country.
“This investment will not only help local areas to target current pinch points on their roads, but will also harness our world-leading research and innovation capabilities to future proof the next generation of journeys.”