Durham County Council is committing a further £1.5 million over the next three years to preventative highway maintenance.
The extra funding will help protect the county’s 3,800km road network, tackling deterioration early to significantly cut the number of potholes.
Targeting preventative repairs on roads nearing the end of their serviceable life, and other areas where recurring faults are common, the programme will see £750,000 invested in 2026/27, £500,000 in 2027/28 and £250,000 in 2028/29.
The new programme, which will see the use of specialist preventative repair methods, including Mastic Asphalt Patching and Spray Injection Patching, will help extend the lifespan of road surfaces and reduce the need for reactive pothole repairs.
This additional investment is a boost to the council’s annual programme, in which, £12.5 million is being invested into traditional surfacing projects, surface dressing and micro asphalt.
Around 30,000 square metres of road are expected to be treated over the three-year programme, which forms part of the council’s wider strategy of investing in the right treatments at the right time to maximise the lifespan of the highway network and deliver better value for money.
Cllr Tim McGuinness, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for rural, farming and transport, said:
“Our highways team does a lot of work to reduce the number of potholes across the county, and this additional investment will bolster these extensive efforts. Extra funding gives us the ability to prevent road defects before they develop and allows us to deliver targeted, preventative repairs.
“This preventive approach, when paired with new repair methods and traditional road resurfacing works, will be a game changer for the county’s roads.
“We’re already investing £12.5 million into traditional surfacing works and we have a wide range of treatment techniques. We will continue to carry out regular safety inspections of roads and do all we can to reduce potholes across the county.”
Residents can report a pothole and see how we check our roads are safe at www.durham.gov.uk/potholes.
