After two severe winters causing a deterioration of the city’s road surfaces, Cardiff Council’s road repair programme is well on track with just over £4.6m investment being planned for the highway network this financial year.
The Council uses a formal assessment system to gain the clearest possible picture of the conditions of our roads and pavements. This is supplemented by information gleaned from regular safety inspections, insurance claim activity, public and Councillor complaints, maintenance history and highway inspector knowledge of the network.
Nearly £2.2m has been allocated for the renewal of road and footways around the city and approximately 70 schemes have already been identified for implementation.
A further £2.1m has been allocated to undertake the necessary highway and footway repairs within the Council’s area. A significant proportion of this will be used to continue with new permanent re-instatement strategy which commenced in January this year using supplementary funding provided by the Welsh Assembly following the winter weather period. Under this new approach, the Council is undertaking permanent repairs on a ward by ward basis, rather than the temporary and less attractive repair method that had previously been adopted.
Approximately £360,000 has been identified for the funding of any emergency road repairs that might be required during the financial year and also further renewal or reinstatement works that are identified during the period.
This amounts to a Council commitment of £4.661m to repair the highways and footways throughout the city this financial year.
Executive Member for Finance and Service Delivery, Cllr Mark Stephens said, “It is vital for our future economic growth that Cardiff recovers quickly from two very harsh winters and the damage those winters have brought to our roads. Cardiff Council is assessing the longer term financial investment requirements that are required and those will be set through future budgetary processes.”
Executive Member for Traffic and Transportation, Cllr Lisa Ford said, “Cardiff Council is showing great commitment, financially and operationally to deal with these issues that have been a problem all over the UK. The Council has made an initial assessment of the roads and footways in the City and has produced a coherent and costed plan which focuses upon repairing priority streets to progress the tackling of these problems. It is a priority for the Council to have roads and pathways that are in good condition for its citizens and many visitors to use safely.”
