Millions to be spent on Wigan borough pothole repairs

Some of a village’s worst roads will be resurfaced in a move which will bring huge relief to long-suffering motorists.

Hindley Green drivers have endured pothole-ridden roads for some time and the worry of having to pay out for potential vehicle damage which that brings.

Now they will get a much-needed boost as lockdown eases and more people go to work and school and use the roads.

Work will see several roads resurfaced in the next financial year after the area received a share of more than £8m of Wigan Council funding.

One of the stretches to benefit will be Close Lane from the roundabout at the end of Glossop Way towards Park Road, which has particularly bad potoles.

Other roads include Swan Lane at its junction with Alder Lane and Taylor Road, where resurfacing took place last year, onto Severn Drive.

And Leigh Road, from the junction at the Bethel down to just before the traffic lights at Smiths Lane, will also be resurfaced.

Coun John Vickers, of Hindley Green, welcomed the work as a “significant improvement”.

He said: “Roads and Potholes are a big issue across the borough and Hindley Green is no exception.

“Over £8m has been allocated to the ongoing programme of road repairs borough wide and I am pleased, given the many concerns I deal with on resident’s behalf regarding our roads that Hindley Green is being allocated a share of that budget.

He added: “These four schemes are in addition to the works undertaken in Hindley Green last year and will be a significant improvement to the local road infrastructure.”

Some of the more common damage caused by potholes is a flat tire or damage to your tires, bent or damaged rims, suspension damage, steering damage and even damage to the body of the car.

Potholes can even knock your car out of alignment so it will affect the way the tires wear and can lead to replacing tires before earlier than expected, coming at a lot of cost for motorists.

Figures showed there were 159 compensation claims lodged to Wigan Council for pothole damage in 12 months between October 1, 2017 and September 30, 2018.

That also means the council had to dole out more than £8,000 in compensation, compared to less than £100 in the previous 12-month period, according to data which was assembled by motoring industry organisation carwow through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

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