North Devon receives £5 million for road resurfacing

The North Devon link road is to undergo a £5 million road resurfacing and drainage, the Transport Minister has announced.

Following Devon County Council’s successful bid for Challenge Funding, sections of the A361 will be improved. Low noise surface will be used on the link road and new junction which will be constructed to access developments to the east of Tiverton.

The minister confirmed that Devon will receive £4.25 million from the Department for Transport to improve the road surface on parts of the link road. The remainder of the funding is from Devon County Council and developer contributions.

As part of the scheme, Devon County Council has already funded essential drainage improvements on the A361.

Over 40 volunteers from town and parish councils have signed up as community road wardens, enabling them to carry out a range of duties including minor work. A further 130 volunteers have received Chapter 8 training funded by the council, with more than 30 from other organisations undertaking the training.

Through £95,000 of Devon County Council’s Highway Maintenance Community Enhancement Fund (HMCEF) in 2016 these volunteers delivered work with a value of more than £168,000.

Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member for highway management, said: “This is a very welcome announcement of funding to carry out necessary surface improvements on one of our major roads in the county. The Government funding for resurfacing the North Devon link road will enable us to focus support toward more minor roads across Devon, and continue the roll-out of our Community Road Warden Scheme and our Highway Maintenance Community Enhancement Fund.”

This funding is part of a £75 million government investment for essential road maintenance. Read more on this story here