Pothole-strewn streets to be repaired first in £8m project revealed

The funding – a mix of local authority and central government cash – will be spent over the next two years to fill potholes and fix highway defects.

Other news: Man charged over pensioner's death in road smashCouncil leader David Molyneux earlier this month revealed £3.3m would be set aside in next year’s budget for road repairs – supplementing a one-off £1.7m payment received from Westminster this winter.

This will be added to the council’s annual handouts from the Department for Transport, bringing the total earmarked to be spent over the next two years to £8.4m.

Coun Molyneux said: “We know how important the roads are to residents and we have a long-term plan to maintain them.”

According to the council’s highways work schedule the following locations will be among the first to be tackled, in either April, May or June.

Carriageway resurfacing:

Bolton Road, Ashton (between Bryn Road and Orchard Street);

Downall Green Road, Bryn (between Wigan Road and Hasaldine Street);

Holden Road, Leigh (between the Avenue and Hanover Street);

Garswood Street, Ashton (full length);

Langdale Avenue, Swinley (Queensway and Lessingham Avenue);

Kipling Avenue, Poolstock (full length).

Footway works:

A49 Wigan Road, Standish;

Hilary Avenue/Lincoln Avenue, Wigan;

Merton Road, Winstanley;

Moorfield Crescent, Lowton;

Union Street, Leigh.

The state of the borough’s roads was a common theme in feedback received in a recent consultation exercise about its long-term plans, the town hall said.

Officers maintain around 1,160km of local routes and around £1m is spent on fixing around 13,000 highway minor defects, including potholes, each year.

Coun Molyneux said: “It is great to see work starting immediately to repair our roads.

“In The Deal 2030 consultation you told us you wanted the roads to be in a good condition and we’re listening to that.

“It is always difficult after winter because the roads get damaged in the bad weather but this extra £3.3m will mean we can repair the roads quickly and efficiently.”

The £1.7m one-off payment Wigan received from government for 2019/20 was the largest amount for any Greater Manchester authority, part of £53m across the North West.

Speaking in November, roads minister Jesse Norman said: “Potholes are a huge problem for all road users, and too often we see issues occurring at the same place time after time.”