TOMORROW the council’s environment and regeneration committee will approve the next phase of investment in the area’s roads infrastructure.

The committee originally approved our roads asset management strategy back in 2012, with an initial financial commitment of £17m over three years agreed as part of the budget in February 2013.

The total investment was subsequently increased to £29m over five years in February 2015, reflecting the Labour administration’s manifesto commitment to significantly improve our roads assets during the lifetime of this council.

The strategy doesn’t only cover the upgrade of carriageways and footways; it also includes investment in improved street lighting and structures, such as bridges and culverts.

Hopefully those of you who regularly travel around Inverclyde have seen the improvements made during the past three years. I recognise we still have a long way to go and that every year the winter weather causes further deterioration.

That’s why despite significant cuts to our funding from the Scottish Government we are continuing to give a high priority to spending on our roads.

The proposed investment in carriageways in 2016/17 is of the order of £2.5m, although this could increase if the weather permits more work to be carried out during the year. Some of the roads due for resurfacing are Cloch Road in Gourock; Dunlop Street, Eldon Street, Stafford Road and Kestrel Crescent in Greenock; West Glen Road in Kilmacolm; Arran Avenue, Auchenbothie Road, Dubbs Road, Southfield Avenue, Tiree Avenue, Uist Avenue and Staffa Avenue in Port Glasgow.

The footway investment planned for next year is £500,000. It includes Cloch Road and Tarbet Street in Gourock; Ardgowan Street, Belville Street, Curlew Crescent, Gateside Gardens/Grove and Renton Road in Greenock; Clune Brae, Dubbs Road, Uist Avenue and Staffa Avenue in Port Glasgow.

Full details of all the roads included in the carriageway and footway programmes can be found in the report, which is available in the committee section of the council’s website.

The investment in street lighting is £1m, split between new columns (£500,000) and LED white lighting lantern replacements (£500,000). As well as being more energy efficient and better for the environment, white lighting enhances roads safety for both pedestrians and drivers. The feedback in areas where it has already been installed has been generally positive.

It is planned to spend £300,000 on structures during 2016/17, with the main project being the replacement of waterproofing on the deck of Cardwell Road Bridge.

When I move the council’s budget next Thursday I will re-affirm our commitment to delivering our £29m investment programme through to March 2018. 

How much we can spend on our roads beyond that point will very much be dependent on the funding levels we receive from the Scottish Government.
At this time the outlook does not look that good.