Millions in extra funding for highways in Norfolk to be considered
The County Council's Cabinet will meet next month.
An extra £10m could be spent on filling and preventing potholes across Norfolk if funding is given the green light next month.
The County Council's Cabinet will also consider plans to spend another £1m on 100 road safety schemes across the county.
Cllr Martin Wilby, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Transport, said: “Maintaining a safe and reliable transport network is vital to keep Norfolk communities and businesses connected and to support economic growth and recovery.
"That’s why we’re looking to provide an extra £10m for road maintenance works to help fix and prevent potholes, and set aside £1m for 100 locally important road safety schemes.”
The £1m Road Safety Community Fund would provide up to £10,000 each for smaller road safety schemes, such as lowering speed limits or making changes to road signs and markings, to help address local issues and concerns.
West Norfolk would be first to benefit if the new fund gets the backing of councillors.
The council says cash would be spent on improvements right across Norfolk over the next four years, with work focused on one area of the county each year to help maximise efficiencies and allow as many schemes as possible to be funded.
The focus would initially be West Norfolk, then North and East Norfolk, South Norfolk and finally Norwich. The first safety improvements could be in place about a year from now.
And a new £10m Highways Maintenance Pothole Fund would see an extra £2,500,000 spent each year for the next four years on resurfacing, surface dressing, drainage improvements, bridge maintenance and pothole repairs.
This financial year, the extra money would include an extra £400,000 spent on fixing potholes, and an additional 54 miles of existing road surfaces given a new seal at a cost of £1.1m to prevent potholes opening up.
The extra £11m would be in addition to the £42 million budget for roads and infrastructure that was agreed in February 2021.
Cabinet will discuss the reports when it meets at 10am on Monday, 6 September.