Council reiterates plan for investment in region’s roads

A spokesman for Scottish Borders Council has said that it plans to make “considerable investment” in the region’s roads, despite “ongoing financial challenges”.
16-04-2015 Picture Sarah Peters.  Stephen Evans who hit this large pothole near Dolphinton on his road bike.  Damaged bike and injured face and elbow.16-04-2015 Picture Sarah Peters.  Stephen Evans who hit this large pothole near Dolphinton on his road bike.  Damaged bike and injured face and elbow.
16-04-2015 Picture Sarah Peters. Stephen Evans who hit this large pothole near Dolphinton on his road bike. Damaged bike and injured face and elbow.

They added: “The 2015/16 capital plan announced in February 2015 includes a commitment over the next 10 years to invest £69m in roads and bridges, an increase of £35.7m since 2012/13.

“The council continues to adopt an asset management approach to its road network, and wherever possible maximises budgets by identifying alternative road treatment options which prolong the life of the road. The council uses the national Scottish Road Maintenance Survey which measure the condition of roads when identifying programmes of work.”

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The statement came following news that the condition of roads in the Borders is deteriorating faster than in other rural areas, according to a new study. Research compared the area’s road condition ranking with seven other rural local authorities in Scotland. Roads in the Borders were found to have the greatest decline since 2013.

The study was commissioned as part of a review of the state of the A72 in the region.

Councillors had asked for a report on the condition of the A72 with relevant statistics on accident rates and traffic flow.

Part of the paper for the Tweeddale area forum also looked at other council areas for comparison purposes.