£100m roads revival underway in Manchester

Manchester City Council has begun implementing its new five-year £100 million highways investment programme, which will improve hundreds of roads in the region.

More than £15 million will be invested across the next 12 months to fund resurfacing of some of the city’s key roads, as well as introducing a preventative programme to significantly extend the lifespan of more than 300 highways, cycle lanes and footpaths.

Preventative work will involve applying surface treatments to the roads, helping to prevent water damage and restore tyre grip, extending the road’s life by up to ten years. Major potholes will be fixed prior to the surface treatment being applied to the road.

The authority hopes that by taking early action, it will prevent the need for more costly major intervention in the future, saving both money and disruption.

Angeliki Stogia, executive member for the environment, said: “We know just how much our residents value the city’s roads and that they want to see them maintained to the highest possible standard. That’s why we have prioritised this £100m investment programme, which will result in significant, long-term improvements to our highways.

“Prevention is better than cure, so as well as tackling the blight of existing potholes, we are also taking action to treat hundreds more roads before potholes start to appear. To minimise disruption throughout the programme, we will phase the work to ensure that the long-term gain we all want for our roads doesn’t mean short-term pain for drivers, cyclists and residents.”