Council pumps �6m into pothole contract for Barking and Dagenham roads
The pledge to invest six million pounds of urgent investment in road repairs was confirmed by Barking and Dagenham Council at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, along with the names of those roads affected.
So far 59 roads within the borough have been prioritised for resurfacing over two years, although the list may expand if other roads deteriorate significantly.
“This programme will not be able to re-surface all roads in the borough, but it will target some of the worst,” a council spokesman said.
The council insisted in its proposal that there was not sufficient funding available to resurface every highway.
Instead, roads with a Highway Condition Index of 70 plus - meaning that significant work needs to be undertaken - or which are anticipated to reach that level over the next two years have been included.
The list was created following safety inspections and will cover 14 wards. Carriageways close to schools were given priority as well as roads where further patching attempts would not be cost effective.
Included in the list is Grafton Road. In a letter to the Post, resident Carol Leaver said the road surface looked “more like an old farm track than a main road”.
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She added: “I frequently ride a bicycle and it is becoming like and Olympic sport negotiating the dozens of potholes.”
However not included on the list is Cornshaw Road, despite a petition of more than 30 residents declaring the road “unfit for purpose”.
“The road hasn’t been resurfaced for twenty to thirty years,” said Norman Sampson, 77, resident and former chairman of the Barking and Dagenham Liberal Democrats.
“All they have done is fill in a few holes with tarmac very badly. Anyone crossing the road could easily break an ankle,” he added.
In its proposal, the council insisted that due to successful bids for funding from Transport for London over many years its Principal Road Network is among the best in London.
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