Funding to repair tens of thousands of potholes

Tens of thousands of potholes across West Yorkshire are expected to be repaired after councils were given a share of £15m of government funding to fix damaged roads.

The money, allocated by the Department for Transport and approved by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), is due to pay for resurfacing, patching and other maintenance across the region.

Bradford will receive just short of £3.19m, with the council leader saying the authority planned to repair 20,000 potholes by April and would look at buying two "super pothole machines".

Meanwhile, Leeds has been given nearly £4.9m, Kirklees £3.1m, Wakefield £2.5m and Calderdale £1.9m to fund the work.

A WYCA report said the money would pay for more than 12.4 miles (20km) of renewed highways and about 400,000 sq ft (37,000 sq m) of carriageway patching - roughly the same surface area as five football pitches.

The report said many of the projects would take place in some of the county's most deprived communities, helping to reduce motoring costs for residents, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Simon Pope, transport capital programme director, said the funding would bring "significant" economic benefits for West Yorkshire, such as reduced vehicle repairs and improved journey times.

At a recent WYCA meeting, Bradford Council leader Stephen Place told West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin: "Thanks on behalf of Bradford. It will allow us to explore getting two JCB super pothole machines.

"I've said our target is to deal with 20,000 potholes in the financial year. It is a big target, but we will achieve it."

Wakefield Council leader Karl Johnson said: "This funding is much needed, especially in Wakefield."

Earlier this year, Leeds City Council ran a trial of specialised repair machines that cut, cleaned, and prepared potholes in just eight minutes.

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