Durham County Council bid to improve our Roads

The Beast from the East certainly lived up to its name as it covered the entirety of the UK in a blanket of snow and ice in the last week of February. Durham County Council reportedly used around 10,000 tonnes of salt in one week and 61,500 tonnes in total, in the effort to keep our roads clear – more than double the amount used last year.

One of the most dangerous aspects of the freezing weather conditions was in fact the cold, which lead to a phenomenon called ‘freezing rain’, which was much more widespread than it has been for a very long time and has deleterious effects on road surfaces.

Council Leader councillor Simon Henig announced there will be an extra £700,000 allocated for next year’s budget for road maintenance, he added “As a consequence of the winter weather, the road network has taken a battering”

This will be an addition to Durham County Councils allocated £1.3m share of the national “pothole” fund. In total Durham Council will be investing £5.7m towards road repairs, in addition to the government funding schemes, there will be £17m to spend in County Durham.