More funding for Plane and Patch treatment of Bucks roads
Plane and Patch has proved a very popular method of repairing pothole clusters across local roads in Buckinghamshire.
In early 2019, a £4 million programme treated over 100 roads and proved so successful that an additional £1 million was allocated to this treatment, commencing in November 2019 and treating 27 more roads.
Whilst this work is due for completion by the end of March 2020, the exceptional period of wet weather over the winter has caused further deterioration. To address this, further funding has again been added, enabling work to continue on recently identified areas of deterioration. In all, it is anticipated that £5 million of Plane and Patch work will now take place between March and the end of May, incorporating over 100 more schemes.
TfB technicians, who have a broad knowledge of their areas, working from their local area transport depots in Amersham, High Wycombe and Aylesbury, recommend the areas to receive Plane and Patch treatment, to ensure that those areas of highest local concern are prioritised.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member Mark Shaw went to check on some of the Plane and Patch sites with his deputy Paul Irwin and said “This type of road repair treatment is particularly effective in the more minor residential areas and offers great value for money as TfB can focus the repair towards pothole clusters.
“I’m sure that residents will be very pleased that we will embark on another round of Plane and Patch in March. Parts of our network have severely suffered during the recent storms and sustained wet weather (February was the wettest on record!) and I’m pleased that we are able to sustain continued funding to target repairs at those locations where they are most urgently required.”
Whilst every effort will be made to minimise disruption, some urgent repairs are necessary on busier routes and therefore some unplanned disruption is likely whilst these locations are repaired.
Plane and Patch treatment complements the larger scale road-surfacing programme, which is largely targeted at maintaining strategic routes, preventing them falling into a condition where they would then require more expensive structural work.
To find out more about where TfB is working keep in touch via social media outlets including Twitter@tfbalerts and Facebook/TransportforBucks.