Extra £1 million to repair road damage caused by winter weather

An extra £1 million will be spent on repairing damage to Surrey’s roads caused by snow and ice this winter.

The additional investment was announced at a meeting of Surrey County Council’s Cabinet today by Leader David Hodge.

John Furey, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, welcomed the decision when he said: “We took immediate action to find and fix potholes caused by freezing temperatures this winter and we continue to make those repairs.

“We’ll use the extra £1 million announced by the council leader to reinforce this work and find and fix more potholes caused by this year’s cold snaps which blanketed the county in snow.”

During severe weather road surfaces can deteriorate. Water seeps into cracks in the road and expands as it freezes. This causes cracks to open up in the surface. Repeated thawing and freezing causes the most damage.

Mr Furey added: “We’re about to embark on a five-year plan to tackle the root cause of potholes which will make our roads more resilient to the extremes of winter.

“As well as investing more money in improving roads, including an extra £25 million made possible by a rise in council tax, we’re also working smarter and more efficiently which means we can repair more roads for less money.”

ENDS

Media requiring more information can contact Surrey County Council senior media relations officer James Oxley on 0208 541 7259.