Newsroom Archive

Since the start of this financial year, Telford & Wrekin Council has resurfaced 16.7 miles of roads and improved 30 miles of footpaths.

Also, more than 22,000 street lights have been replaced with energy-efficient LEDs as part of Telford & Wrekin Council’s Pride in Our Community improvement programme.

These improvements are part of the Council’s 2019/20 Pride in Our Community capital programme which is investing £12m in 222 improvement schemes across the borough over the current financial year.

In addition to road and footpath improvements, drainage works as well as work on highways structures such as bridges, projects have also included road safety schemes at a number of schools, addressing concerns around traffic speeds, pedestrian safety and inappropriate parking.

Major schemes completed to date include improvements to the A442, A5223 and a number of key roundabouts.

All of the projects undertaken are in response to issues raised by residents, elected councillors and local town and parish councils or as part of the Council’s planned rolling maintenance work.

The projects have been carried out by the Council’s contractor Balfour Beatty, which is the sole contractor working on highways improvement projects since April 2019.

Innovative approaches and new technology, keeping it local (with local workers and apprentices) and improving customer satisfaction (by getting it right first time) are key features of Balfour Beatty’s approach demonstrated in working in the borough in the last months.

As part of the contract, Balfour Beatty has committed to cleaning out all 33,000 drains in the borough in just 12 months – and they’ve already managed to clean 15,000.
This is due to an intelligence-based cleaning programme that has been implemented, with each of the drains being digitally mapped with silt levels recorded.

Further major improvements are planned on the A442 from Stirchley to Randlay.

Councillor Richard Overton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, Enforcement and The Pride Programme said: “The condition of our roads is above the regional and national averages and this is something we can all be proud of.

“We are committed to making our roads even better and to keep Telford and Wrekin moving – our contractor Balfour Beatty has done a great job since joining us in April 2019.

“As a result of the work carried out so far in a number of locations and the high quality of workmanship, the roads are visibly better, safer and with an extended life.

“We know there’s still more to do and we will be working hard in the coming months to make further improvements.

“I also encourage people to let us know about any issues they spot.”

Paul Raynor, contract manager for Balfour Beatty, said: “We’ve had an excellent start since being appointed Telford & Wrekin Council’s sole contractor on highways, we’ve achieved everything we’ve planned so far and we’ve got even more ambitious plans going forward.

“Our aim is to continue to work closely with the Council to deliver our commitments on a ‘getting it right first-time’ approach – as this helps the Council save significantly but also improves satisfaction for all road users.”

Visit www.telford.gov.uk/pride for current and upcoming projects and to report any issues.