West Yorkshire paves the way for a safer future

Plans for a major investment into West Yorkshire’s roads have been approved, with work taking place over the next two years.

With almost £125m investment allocated for improving and maintaining the roads, plans are set for roughly 450 miles of road to be repaired and protected, alongside broader highways work.

The largest portion of the funding—£105.2m—has been allocated for asset management, including resurfacing and repairing roads, maintaining bridges and other structures and improving drainage, streetlights and signs throughout the area.

There has also been £8.3m set aside for the Safe Roads programme, which will include improvements to junctions and traffic calming measures, as well as a further near £10m for network management and £600,000 to help develop active travel schemes.

The funding was approved on 3 April by regional leaders at a full West Yorkshire Combined Authority meeting as part of the tail end of the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) scheme, and will also form part of the West Yorkshire Vision Zero initiative, which aims to eliminate all serious injuries and road deaths by 2040.

Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said: ‘We know that poor roads in West Yorkshire are a big issue for motorists, causing damage and creating unsafe driving conditions. This funding will be a huge boost to help fix more potholes, repair more roads and improve safety. Ensuring all our roads are safe and well maintained is important for building a better-connected region.’