Repair teams get busy as virus keeps heavy traffic off the roads
A CITY council has taken advantage of the quieter roads during lockdown to carry out highways improvements across its district.
Since lockdown began on March 23, almost 24 miles of road across Wakefield district has been resurfaced or repaired and the Labour-run council has also resurfaced over 26 miles of footways.
General maintenance has been carried out in 63 locations across the district, which includes work such as replacing kerbs, installing bollards and repairing pavements.
The teams have also worked to keep the district safe and moving for key workers and has carried out over 1,000 emergency jobs.
Coun Matthew Morley, Wakefield Council’s cabinet member for planning and highways, said: “One good thing that has come out of lockdown is that we’ve been able to continue to maintain and improve our highways whilst causing minimal disruption to residents.
“The teams have been busy whilst the roads and streets have been much quieter.
“I’d like to thank the teams for their hard work whilst most people were been asked to stay at home. We will continue to ensure a good quality and reliable network across the district.”
The council manages and maintain over 930 miles of roads and 1,200 miles of footway, cycle lanes and tracks.
The road network laid end to end would stretch further than from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
Earlier this year, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet approved plans to invest a further £3m into the district’s roads and footpaths over the next year.
It says this investment, combined with £5m of funding from the Department for Transport and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, will allow the council to continue to improve and maintain highways across the district.
The district has a population of more than 300,000 people.