Recycled road paves the way for £1.2m maintenance savings

AN innovative approach to roads maintenance could save a West Midland local authority millions of pounds.

Staffordshire County Council is conducting a pilot project in Penkridge that will see rubble from a road resurfacing scheme recycled on site and re-used along the same stretch of carriageway.

The project is set to save the council’s taxpayers more than £1.2m.

The system also means that 1,800 fewer lorries will travel to and from the road to collect and drop off material.

Cllr Mike Maryon, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: “We are constantly looking for innovative ways to deliver high quality frontline services at the best possible price.

“By carefully coordinating the upgrade of Teddesley Road we have been able to reduce costs by £1.2m which is a significant saving for our taxpayers.”

The county council’s cabinet approved an additional £20m investment in Staffordshire’s road network in January. The extra money will be spent on preventative work over two years.  

This is on top of the extra £30m that the county council added to the highways budget in 2009.