We need £1 billion to fix our roads, says Cambridgeshire councillor

The Chair of Cambridgeshire Council's Transport committee is optimistic that the county will see better roads after its budget was doubled.

Drivers in Cambridgeshire will start to see more and more roads that look new, according to one county councillor. Cllr Alex Beckett, Chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, has seen his department's budget double to £59 million this year - but he says this probably won't be enough to fix the county's roads.

Beckett said: "There are real problems with the quality of roads in this county."

"Historically, we've seen really high levels of underinvestment."

Beckett said that when he was elected for the Liberal Democrats 4 years ago, he knew that Cambridgeshire's roads were in "managed decline", but he didn't realise the extent of the problem.

Since 2019, more than £13 million has been spent on fixing potholes in Cambridgeshire - including more than £3.5 million last year.

"Keir Starmer, in the run-up to the election, was pledging to fill potholes.

"It's not filling potholes that we need, really, it's preventing them. When you resurface a road, it could last for 20 years."

It's even more complicated when you consider fenland roads. These roads are often built on soft peat soil, which can cause dips in the road as the surface sinks.

Beckett explains that when the council fills in these roads in with heavy materials, they've actually made the roads sink more; the fenland roads are actually in need of complete reconstruction.

With the new cash injection, Beckett says he's seen a lot of improvement, but problems remain, including a pothole-tracking computer system that's 20 years out of date.

But even though he admits the budget increase is "historic", Beckett estimates that Cambridgeshire will need more than £400 million worth of maintenance to address all the issues with the roads, and an extra £530 million to fix soil impacted roads.

All told, that's almost £1 billion.

Beckett aims to see a "noticeable difference in road quality" in the next four years.