On 4 October 2023, the government announced an additional £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance over eleven years from 2023/24.
The Government are planning to provide Greater Manchester with £296 million of this extra funding to spend on maintenance of highways. This may include:
- Resurfacing roads, footways and cycleways
- Repairing bridges, street lighting and drainage
So far, £4.438 million has been used to start works in 2023/24, with another £4,438 million to be spent in 2024/25.
Greater Manchester local authorities are constantly looking out for innovative ways to repair highways. For example, spray injected pothole repairs which provide a quick and efficient solution, or thermal repairs which heat up the existing surface and provides a cost-effective treatment using little waste and reduces the carbon impact.
Authorities are even planning to go further and looking to trial software using innovative Artificial Intelligence to monitor the condition of the road surface so they can target areas that are most in need of repairs.
To minimise the risk of roads being dug up after being resurfaced, authorities will also notify utility companies and make them aware that their planned works should not go ahead for up to three years.
Made possible by reallocated HS2 funding
