Liverpool City Council is set to borrow almost £200 million to tackle the “deteriorating quality” of the city’s road network.

A report to the council’s cabinet tomorrow (20 April) will set out a plan to invest £160m in road reconstruction over the next five years, with £15m earmarked for addressing potholes.

The package, which aims to “radically improve the condition of roads across the city” and is a response to “years of chronic underfunding”, also includes £25m for resurfacing and patching work.

The local authority says the bulk of the investment will come from borrowing £185m over 25 years at low interests rates, supported by savings generated by the council’s transformation plan and ‘Invest to Earn’ strategy, which generates income streams from commercialising council assets.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson says: “I drive on the same roads as everyone else, so there is no one more aware of the problem than me. This major new investment in our highways – £200m – is a response to the scale of the problem we face.

“The people of Liverpool can be assured that we have been lobbying the government consistently in recent years to help us fix the problem, but it’s clear from the Chancellor’s recent spring statement there is no reprieve from the government’s austerity programme.

“We cannot wait for help to arrive, so I have decided that we will take action to address the problem of potholes and poor road surfaces with this major new investment, which will radically transform the quality of our road network across the city.

“High quality roads are the arteries of a modern, fast growing city like Liverpool, but I am also concerned about the safety of road users and I don’t want to see anyone injured or killed due to weaving around potholes.

“Ultimately, doing nothing is just not an option as far as I am concerned. Clearly, the deteriorating state of our roads is a national problem, but to do nothing in Liverpool will simply see the cost of fixing our roads soar in future years. This is why we must act now.”

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