Shropshire Star comment: Welcome road cash is overdue

The Department of Transport wants drivers and cyclists to benefit by pouring £43 million into roads in the West Midlands - with £9 million for Shropshire.

The spending is entirely welcome, though it is long overdue.

The state of many roads in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin is worrying. Too many of them are riddled with potholes.

Cyclists, in particular, are at risk on roads where there are deep holes caused by erosion, weathering and the freeze-thaw action that breaks up tarmac during winter. Local authorities have had insufficient funds to spend on roads in recent times as the Government has slashed the amount of money paid to councils. And so the money from the Department of Transport that will target A-roads is a boost for the region.

Motorists ought not to fear damage to their cars when they drive along key arterial routes at times of winter.

They pay their taxes and have a right to expect better. The fact that motorcyclists and cyclists are at risk is simply unacceptable.

We ought to remember that the key reason for our road network is to keep traffic flowing. Businesses depend on basic infrastructure if they are to carry out transactions and stay afloat. Local office workers frequently have to commute, particularly in a county as geographically imposing as Shropshire.

And those who use local roads for social reasons and pleasure also need to know that their journeys won’t be broken by a flat tyre caused from the cusp of a deep pothole, nor loose gravel that chips expensive-to-repair bodywork. Those who have watched on with incredulity at a number of local road schemes in recent times – not least, Hamburger Island, in Shrewsbury – might wonder why cash has been spent on unpopular ‘improvements’ when money has not been available for basic repairs. And the issue of priorities is one that looms large in the mind of many local motorists.

Surely it is more important to maintain our existing infrastructure than it is to tinker at the edges on schemes that have only marginal benefit.

For now, motorists can take comfort that their voices have been heard and action is finally taking place.