Plans are in place to repair potholes expected to blight Bucks roads over the winter, according to the county council.
Transport for Bucks teams spent the summer repairing potholes after harsh winter weather plagued the county’s already dilapidated roads.
However, council chiefs have warned more potholes will pop up during the coldest months of the year, and plans have been put in place to tackle the issue.
The most dangerous potholes will be repaired temporarily in order to make them safe, and cash will be “held back” to carry out permanent resurfacing when the weather improves in the spring.
BCC was recently handed an additional £4.6 million from government to plough into the county’s roads – after councils across the national called for more funding to tackle potholes.
Speaking at a meeting of Bucks County Council’s (BCC) cabinet on Monday, cabinet member for transport, Mark Shaw, said: “We have a cunning plan. The reality is we got a substantial amount of money from government, around £4.6 million of additional funding we weren’t expecting.
“What we are looking at doing is to spend that on plane and patch schemes throughout the county. We are aiming to get going by the middle of march. That’s weather dependent, if we are still having heavy snow and frosts it will be slightly delayed.
“We are in a very good place to improve the state of the roads after they have deteriorated, which they do sadly over the winter period.”
Leader of BCC, Martin Tett, said potholes are already beginning to appear over the county, however added permanent repairs cannot be carried out during bad weather as the road will just deteriorate again.
He said: “Something I am very aware of at the moment we are heading into the worst season of the year in terms of the conditions of the roads. Having cold freezing nights breaks up the roads.
“I’m certainly seeing some potholes beginning to appear in roads that had been okay up until recently. I know how bad things get over the winter and I’m just trying to manage expectations of residents.
“We are not going to be doing stuff when it is really freezing cold and wet, we are going to be holding that money back and having it ready for when the better weather comes.”
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