£11.6m of road repairs set for Leeds

Repairs are set to be carried out on the city’s roads with an £11.6m investment by Leeds City Council.

Transcript

00:00Which Leeds roads would you say are in the greatest need of repair?

00:04The Leeds Inner Ring Road is a particular focus for Leeds City Council,

00:08who have announced an £11.6 million investment into a maintenance programme,

00:13which will see a number of bridges, tunnels and other structures improved.

00:18The Leeds Inner Ring Road works form part of a wider improvement programme over the coming decades,

00:24and Calverley River Bridge has been allocated £3.5 million for essential maintenance

00:29as part of the current year's spending.

00:32A council report said a contractor had been appointed to start work on the bridge,

00:36suggesting that maintaining traffic flow over it is essential to prevent

00:40major disruption on the network.

00:42Weight restrictions or closure of the bridge may be needed without the repairs,

00:47causing traffic congestion on the route.

00:50Currently, the state of the Inner Ring Road is being managed with short-term repairs,

00:54but the longer-term strategy for the route could include investment in

00:585 kilometres of retaining walls and 16 critical bridges and tunnels.

01:02The report said the Leeds Inner Ring Road structures are managed through a deterioration strategy,

01:08with only reactive maintenance being undertaken.

01:11Essential maintenance is required over the coming decades to prevent extensive

01:15disruption to the city, should the structures deteriorate to a point of failure.

01:19The road accommodates 83,000 vehicles a day,

01:23and takes half the traffic redirected from the closure of City Square.

01:27The current year's maintenance funding includes cash from the council's

01:30capital budget and central government.

01:32The report recommends the allocation of funding for a list of at-risk road structures,

01:37and as it is classed as a key decision worth more than £500,000,

01:41it could be subject to extensive scrutiny from councillors.