Posted on Monday 30th December 2024
Highways teams celebrate a year of hard work across Staffordshire.
As 2024 draws to a close, highways teams in Staffordshire have been reflecting on a year of significant work to ensure safer and smoother journeys for residents across the county.
Crews have repaired nearly 28,000 potholes since April, which works out at an average of 153 potholes each day.
Staffordshire County Council has also completed 26 major resurfacing projects, with three more currently underway and a further eight scheduled to begin early in the New Year.
Significant progress has been made to improve the county’s drainage systems as well. Over 53,000 gullies have been cleared this year, nearly 20% more than in 2023. This essential work helps prevent flooding and safeguards road surfaces during periods of heavy rainfall and stormy weather.
Another critical effort during the colder months has been gritting the county’s roads to keep them safe in icy conditions. Crews have spread an impressive 13,883 tonnes of salt across more than 126,000km of roads since January. That's enough salt to match the weight of around 1,000 fully loaded double-decker buses.
Surface dressing was another key area of focus, with crews covering an extraordinary 1,705,442 square metres of road surface between March and October - equivalent to 239 football pitches. A total of 762 roads were treated during this period, including 98 projects brought forward from the next financial year, demonstrating the council’s commitment to accelerating improvements for the benefit of residents.
Mark Deaville, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways, said:
“I couldn’t be prouder of what our highways crews have achieved in 2024. This year has been a fantastic demonstration of what they can achieve with the right resources and determination. From repairing tens of thousands of potholes to completing major resurfacing projects and enhancing drainage systems, they’ve worked tirelessly to keep Staffordshire moving.
"Our additional £8 million investment into fixing more roads this year, on top of the £45 million committed over three years, has enabled us to go further than ever before - repairing more potholes, clearing more drains, and treating more roads than in previous years.
“We would like to do even more in 2025 and, if the government is willing to fund our highways service properly, our teams are ready to fix more roads for our residents."