As part of the additional £12m funding received from the Department for Transport in November 2018, Cumbria County Council has invested £400,000 into resurfacing a stretch of the A6 just outside Carlisle – one of approx. 100 projects the additional funding has been used for to keep Cumbria moving.
The additional funding was welcomed after years of raising awareness about the challenges facing Cumbria’s roads, and was provided with the condition that the money must be spent before the end of March 2019. The council’s highways department worked intensively to develop a list of proposed projects for the money to be spent on and successfully completed approx. 100 individual schemes using this money between November 2018 and April 2019.
The four week programme for the A6 was carried out between Coomara Veterinary Practice and Springfield Farm, and carried out in phases to minimise the disruption on this key road in and out of the city.
The works involved reconstructing the bond layers of the road to a depth of 300mm. A specialist plant was used to help recycle the coal tar used in the lower levels of the road. This material contains carcinogens which would usually require disposal at a specially licensed landfill site – at a significant cost to both the council and the environment. However, the innovative recycling process meant this was avoided. Recycling the coal tar also resulted in reduced carbon emissions and reduced the cost of the project.
Cllr Keith Little, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “I am delighted that so much work has been done using this additional funding. We were pleased that the government recognised the challenges facing our transport network, and our teams have worked hard to ensure that the funding has been invested in to important projects all over the county.
“The A6 is a vital artery connecting communities and the £400,000 investment will facilitate improved road safety, enhanced connectivity and help stimulate economic growth.”
