LATEST figures show Warrington Borough Council has spent £170m on highways and transport network improvements over the past five years.
In the period from 2015 to 2020/21, the borough council has been successful in securing £200m grant funding for a number of current and future major transport improvement schemes.
This grant funding has been used to deliver a number of key projects, including Warrington West Station, Centre Park Link, investment in the A574 corridor in Birchwood and Omega in northwest Warrington. It has also helped deliver strategic cycle enhancements, such as a new link to Burtonwood and major improvements along the Trans-Pennine Trail.
For every £1 spent on major transport improvements, the council has managed to secure another £2 of investment from government and other sources.
While there have been a number of major schemes delivered over the last five years, many more minor schemes have been delivered, utilising grant funding including £28m from DfT Local Transport Plan funding. This includes projects such as traffic calming, bridge maintenance, new and upgraded footpaths, cycle paths, pedestrian crossings and carriageway resurfacing.
Alongside the investment in new projects, the council has invested heavily in the maintenance of Warrington’s networks. The Council has invested almost £50m to maintain 1,137km of road, footways and make 26,600 street lights more energy-efficient.
Warrington Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for transportation, highways and public realm, Cllr Hans Mundry, said: “I’m really pleased to report these latest figures, which demonstrate the significant number of transport improvements and highways maintenance schemes undertaken over the last five years across the borough.
“The massive scale of investment we have made into our transport networks will continue to deliver economic, environmental and quality of life benefits to our residents, employees and visitors for many years to come.
“The vision set out in our Local Transport Plan (LTP4) is to make Warrington a thriving, attractive, accessible and well-connected place – with popular, high quality walking, cycling and public transport networks supporting our carbon-neutral future. This vision is at the forefront of design and delivery of all of our investments, large and small.”
