Ayrshire Roads Alliance's proposed programme of investment works has been approved by East Ayrshire Council's Cabinet, which will allow for the progress of improvement works to be carried out to carriageways, footways and street lighting, in addition to bridge strengthening and investment in transportation, traffic and road safety.

For 2024/25 the overall roads budget will be £8.280 million, and a number of carriageway and footway schemes have been identified and prioritised for action. The investment will see £2.293m being allocated for carriageway structural maintenance; £0.25m each for footway structural maintenance and street lighting improvement schemes; £2.4m for bridge and culvert strengthening; £0.323m for transport; £0.650m for New Cumnock Flood Scheme; £0.870m for Kilmarnock car parks; £0.794m for the Kilmarnock multi-storey demolition; and £0.4m for active travel schemes. There was also an additional £400,000 allocated at Council two weeks ago for pavement and road improvements.

As a result of targeted expenditure, figures show a continued improvement since 2016 in the condition of East Ayrshire's road network. There is concern, however, about the need for investment in the future to maintain this improvement.

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The Council will manage this risk by implementing a robust carriageway inspection regime; ensuring that potholes are repaired as quickly as possible; implementing a programme of structural patching in addition to the carriageway resurfacing and surface dressing programmes; and considering the use of alternative materials to undertake carriageway repairs. In 2023/24, an additional revenue allocation of £400,000 was used to target deep patching and a further £400,000 has been allocated for 2024/25.

Traffic, Transportation and Road Safety improvement programmes will continue to be delivered in partnership with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), Transport Scotland and SUSTRANS, with a focus on improving road safety, enhancing the transport network and promoting accessible travel choices.

This will include expanding the successful School Streets programme with a further three projects being implemented in spring/summer at Bellsbank Primary School, Dalrymple Primary School and Auchinleck Primary School and the roll out of further schemes after the summer break.

Also included will be work on the final phase of the refurbishment programme at Kilmarnock Bus Station, and the progression of the Hurlford Street Design Project which aims to enable more people to cycle and walk for everyday journeys.

Large-scale projects will also continue over the next year, including the repurposing of the multi-storey car park site in Kilmarnock into an EV charging and cycling hub with multi-purpose civic space.

Councillor Jim McMahon, Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing, Transport and Communities, said: "The roads infrastructure is one of the Council's most valuable assets and it is vital to the economic wellbeing and development of East Ayrshire, contributing significantly to the local economy and regeneration.

"By re-profiling current available budgets, we have been able to sustain the significant increased and necessary investment in our infrastructure. This increased funding will ensure that we have a strong focus on addressing the quality of the infrastructure asset and the safety of everyone who is using our roads."