More than 100 roads and pavements improved in Wirral in 2024-25
More than £8m was invested in highway maintenance across Wirral last year, with 239 roads and 92 footways around the borough improved, keeping them safe for everyone who uses them.
Funding for road improvements comes from grants provided through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The £8m-plus invested in 2024-25 included dedicated money for works on the Key Route Network – the busiest roads in the borough - and for highway bridges.
This meant that more than 73km of carriageway and 32km of footways have been improved, in different locations across Wirral in the last year.
16 more roads were added to the programme to receive Hot Rolled Asphalt (HRA) treatment in the latter part of the year, meaning a further 4.5km of carriageway was improved.
Hot Rolled Asphalt (HRA) is generally chosen to treat and repair some of the busiest roads in the borough needing it as it provides the most durable surface treatment available to local authorities and can last up to 20 years. However, it is also the most carbon hungry so needs to be used selectively, which is why it is usually prioritised for use on main and commercial routes that carry heavy traffic.
For 2025-26, around £7m is earmarked for the roads maintenance programme in Wirral – nearly £4m for the main highway maintenance works, £160,000 for bridge works, with a further £1.25m anticipated for work on the Key Route Network and £1.75m from the government under their dedicated potholes fund.
Most road improvements are carried out over the summer months when there are more hours of daylight and the weather generally milder.
However, up to the end of May, this year’s programme was already well underway with more than 120 roads receiving one of a range of maintenance treatments used in Wirral, covering nearly 40km of carriageway.
The roads that are chosen to receive maintenance works are prioritised based on the council’s asset management approach, which includes feedback from residents and elected members.
The introduction of innovative methods to reduce carbon is a key factor and recently we have procured the services of Thermal Road repairs who can rejuvenate existing damaged areas of roads and have an 85% savings on CO2 emissions, 88% saving on imported materials, generate zero waste and have minimal disruption and low noise to the public.
Wirral Council has a statutory duty to maintain the public highway in Wirral, as set out in the Highways Act 1980, the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984, the Road Traffic Act 1988, the Local Government Act 2000 and the Traffic Management Act 2004.
