More than £1 million is to be pumped into fixing more than 400 potholes in the next year. East Sussex County Council said it will tackle issues on the roads most in need. It said the investment was vital for maintaining the county's highways but admitted fixing the roads completely would cost hundreds of millions of pounds with the pothole issue getting worse each year.
Councillor Claire Dowling, lead member for transport and environment, said: “To bring all our 2,000 miles of roads up to perfect condition would require more than £300 million – but this added investment will help improve some of the roads most in need of repair. “We know how vital the road network is to our county – for people living or working here, travelling to school or training, delivering public services and caring for our vulnerable residents, which is why we have agreed this additional investment, even at a time when we are facing a significant shortfall in future years.” The council said it would be increasing its pothole budget for the next 12 months from £3.
5 million to £4.5 million. Read More: Drivers claim thousands from council over pothole damage to cars The money would be used on 400 patching upgrades, mainly on A and B roads.
The council blamed increasingly wet winters for the deteriorating condition of its roads, saying its contractor had increased the number of repair gangs to deal with the increase. It has spent £85 million on its highways in the past three years. Cllr Dowling said it needed more support from the government and national investment.
She added: “We spend far more on our roads than we receive from government because we know how important the network is for connectivity and the economy. “We don’t have a network of motorways and dual carriageways that benefit from significant national investment, and we are working hard to draw the government’s attention to counties like ours that have a huge number of unclassified roads to maintain.”.
