John is pictured with some of the new road mending equipment and Staffordshire Highways team (from left) Brian Wilson, Darren Pinson, Brian Delanchy, Gary Garner, and Steve Lamder

On the right road with extra highways investment

It's been an important week for the road network of Staffordshire.

I was delighted to announce that an extra £2 million funding is going towards improving Staffordshire's network of over 3,500 miles of roads.

The cash will be spent on filling more potholes, improving minor roads and delivering local safety schemes.

Investments in road safety are really working and through working in partnership with the police and the community we have cut death and serious injury on Staffordshire's roads by over 50 per cent in the last decade and the trend is still downwards.

On the back of this major announcement four new hi-tech "road menders" have also been brought into the fleet by Staffordshire's private sector partner Enterprise. They will allow us to keep ahead of the pack in delivering efficient and effective highways services to the people of Staffordshire.

The highways team already deliver incredible value for money for the tax payer, but this is a massive task and there is a limit to what the team can deliver without extra resources.

While £2 million is a significant sum, we spend over £40 million on maintenance alone each year, so we have to balance the demands and concerns of local people to get the best possible deal for the people of Staffordshire.

The extra funding is about careful and responsible management of public funding, and whilst Staffordshire Highways has done a remarkable job in delivering more for less and is recognised nationally as a four star service, there is always more to do.

Page Last Modified: 29/07/2008 14:57:43

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