Wakefield roads fixed during quiet lockdown

Since lockdown began on March 23, almost 24 miles of road has been resurfaced or repaired and the council has also resurfaced over 26 miles of footways.

General maintenance has been carried out in 63 locations across the district – which includes work such as replacing kerbs, installing bollards and repairing pavements.

The team has also worked hard to keep the district safe and moving for key workers and have carried out over one thousand emergency jobs.

Coun Matthew Morley, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Members for Planning and Highways, said: “One good thing that has come out of lockdown is that we’ve been able to continue to maintain and improve our highways whilst causing minimal disruption to residents.

“The teams has been busy whilst the roads and streets have been much quieter and I’d like to thank the team for their hard work whilst most people were been asked to stay at home.

“We will continue to ensure a good quality and reliable network across the district.”

The Council manage and maintain over 1,500km of roads and 1,900km of footway, cycle lanes and tracks. The road network laid end to end would stretch further than from Land’s End to John O’Groats (which is 1,400km).

Earlier this year, Wakefield Council’s cabinet approved plans to invest a further £3million into the district’s roads and footpaths over the next year.

This investment, combined with £5million of funding from the Department for Transport and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, will allow the Council to continue to improve and maintain highways across the district.