£12 million pledge to improve Telford streets

Improvements on the A442, A5223 and a number of key roundabouts are among the more major schemes put forward by Telford & Wrekin Council, along with all 33,000 drains in the town to be cleaned.

As part of the Pride in Our Community investment across the borough, the council has pledged to put £12 million into 222 improvement schemes in the next 12 months.

The programme also includes road safety schemes around schools, road and footpath improvements and the creation of another 200 residential parking spaces in local neighbourhoods.

A portion of funding will also go into work on highways structures such as bridges across the town.

All of the proposed projects are in response to issues raised by residents, elected councillors and town and parish councils, or as part of Telford & Wrekin Council's rolling maintenance work.

Balfour Beatty Living Places will be the sole contractor working on highways improvement projects from April 1.

As part of the contract, the construction company has committed to clean out all 33,000 drains in the borough in just 12 months, which under the existing contract takes two and a half years to do.

Each of the drains will be digitally mapped with silt levels recorded so that an intelligence-based cleaning programme can be implemented going forward.

Delighted

The seven year contract with Balfour Beatty is expected to save the council about £1.4 million.

Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Councillor Shaun Davies, said: "The condition of our roads are way better than the regional and national averages, which is something to be proud of.

"Our aim for the coming year is to work with our new partner Balfour Beatty to make further improvements that keep traffic flowing so we can all go about our daily routines and our economy can continue to thrive."

Paul Raynor, contract manager for Balfour Beatty, said: "We are delighted to be working in close partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council this year to deliver this major investment programme that will see additional improvements to the roads and footpaths across the borough.

"Our aim is to continue working closely with the council to deliver on our promises and commitments of a right first time approach while driving continuous improvement throughout the duration of the contact."

A list of the works happening throughout the year can be found at telford.gov.uk.