£2.5m damage bill for Carmarthenshire roads
It has been estimated that the recent bad weather has caused around £2.5 million worth of damage to Carmarthenshire’s road network.
The snow, frost and heavy rain has left a trail of destruction across the county as water in cracks expands into ice, causing the surface of the road to break up and deeper-than-usual potholes.
The damage adds to an already substantial highways maintenance backlog running into millions of pounds.
The Welsh Assembly Government has announced extra funding of £2.75 million to help local authorities repair their weather-beaten roads; however, it is not known how much of a share Carmarthenshire will receive as yet.
The council’s executive board member for technical services Councillor Haydn Jones said: “Whilst it will take time to assess the true extent of the damage caused to our roads by the recent bad weather, initial reports suggest it could be in the region of around £2.5 million.
“The worst-affected roads will take priority, but some stretches will need more extensive resurfacing, and that will take time.
“We welcome this extra money from the Welsh Assembly Government but like all local authorities in Wales we already have a substantial highways maintenance backlog and the recent damage caused to the roads in Carmarthenshire undoubtedly puts added pressure on already stretched resources.”
Carmarthenshire is in a similar position to other local authorities across Wales with highways repairs running into millions of pounds.
Back in 2002, the highways maintenance backlog for Carmarthenshire was estimated at around £31 million.
Although the current level of backlog has not been calculated, a significant amount of money has been spent targeting the worst affected roads and footways. In fact, up to the end of March 2010, an additional £7.725 million (above the annual revenue budget) has been spent on the highways network, of which £4.4 million came from the Welsh Assembly Government.
However, with continuing deterioration of the highways and increasing construction/ treatment costs as well as weather damage the maintenance backlog in Carmarthenshire remains a challenge.
Councillor Jones added: “Although we greatly appreciate this contribution, clearly it is not enough to address the huge amount of repair work that needs to be carried out in Carmarthenshire.
“We would like to reassure residents that we will continue to direct resources as and when they become available, however, it is going to take time.”
The snow, frost and heavy rain has left a trail of destruction across the county as water in cracks expands into ice, causing the surface of the road to break up and deeper-than-usual potholes.
The damage adds to an already substantial highways maintenance backlog running into millions of pounds.
The Welsh Assembly Government has announced extra funding of £2.75 million to help local authorities repair their weather-beaten roads; however, it is not known how much of a share Carmarthenshire will receive as yet.
The council’s executive board member for technical services Councillor Haydn Jones said: “Whilst it will take time to assess the true extent of the damage caused to our roads by the recent bad weather, initial reports suggest it could be in the region of around £2.5 million.
“The worst-affected roads will take priority, but some stretches will need more extensive resurfacing, and that will take time.
“We welcome this extra money from the Welsh Assembly Government but like all local authorities in Wales we already have a substantial highways maintenance backlog and the recent damage caused to the roads in Carmarthenshire undoubtedly puts added pressure on already stretched resources.”
Carmarthenshire is in a similar position to other local authorities across Wales with highways repairs running into millions of pounds.
Back in 2002, the highways maintenance backlog for Carmarthenshire was estimated at around £31 million.
Although the current level of backlog has not been calculated, a significant amount of money has been spent targeting the worst affected roads and footways. In fact, up to the end of March 2010, an additional £7.725 million (above the annual revenue budget) has been spent on the highways network, of which £4.4 million came from the Welsh Assembly Government.
However, with continuing deterioration of the highways and increasing construction/ treatment costs as well as weather damage the maintenance backlog in Carmarthenshire remains a challenge.
Councillor Jones added: “Although we greatly appreciate this contribution, clearly it is not enough to address the huge amount of repair work that needs to be carried out in Carmarthenshire.
“We would like to reassure residents that we will continue to direct resources as and when they become available, however, it is going to take time.”
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