After years of neglect of our roads the Tory-run County Council are
blaming the weather for the state of our roads. The County Council
seem to think that they have an excuse for their underinvestment and
mismanagment of the road network.

Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Liberal Democrats Roads spokesperson said:
‘Whilst welcoming the extra funding, the reality is the Tories have
just found another reason other than themselves for the bad state of
our roads. Yet again they are not taking responsibility. During the
election they tried to blame us – now they blame the weather. What
they do not say is that if our road network had been in better repair
the winter damage would not have been so severe.’

Note to editors in response to this press release

PR 8581 Winter damaged roads to benefit from Highways ‘Reward’ funding

Following the receipt of highways ‘reward’ funding from the
government, the county council has now set out how it will spend the
money. Most of it will go to help repair roads damaged during the
severe winter months.

Earlier this year, Hertfordshire Highways submitted one of only
fourteen successful bids for a share of additional government highways
funding – and received £500,000 from the Department for Transport in
recognition of its innovative, ‘Asset Management’ approach to roads
maintenance.

Combined with other successful bids for additional funding for roads,
Hertfordshire Highways received a total of £876,100 for the current
financial year. Councillors at last week’s (July 13) Cabinet meeting
formally approved proposals put forward for the allocation of the
extra money.

More than £650,000 of the funding will be used to resurface and repair
some of the roads damaged by the exceptional weather during the last
winter. Comparative surveys carried out by Highways show that the
damage caused to roads during two weeks in February was equal to the
amount normally seen in an entire year.

The remaining amount will be used to help cover the costs of reviewing
the way in which Hertfordshire Highways maintains the county’s
streetlighting stock – much of which is ageing and in need of
replacement.

Stuart Pile, Executive Member for Highways and Transport, said: “We
did very well to succeed in our bids for this extra funding from the
government, and we now want to press ahead and start making the best
use of it on the ground. Most of it will be used to rectify some of
the damage caused by the unusually severe winter – a priority that I
know is uppermost in the minds of road users, while the remainder
means that we can start in earnest on a review of streetlighting
maintenance.

As a condition for being awarded the funding, Hertfordshire Highways
is expected to act as an asset management champion in the region and
to share knowledge and expertise with other local authorities.

More detailed information can be found in the Cabinet papers from the
meeting on July 13. They can be viewed online at www.hertsdirect.org