ROADS in Ribble Valley and Hyndburn will benefit from 42 new maintenance, repair and improvement projects worth more than £2.3million.

Lancashire County Council has published its programme to spend an additional £22m from the government on new schemes to be started in 2017/2018.

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It includes £1.7m specifically set aside for tackling potholes.

Ribble Valley borough will see the launch of 31 projects costing £1.9m and Hyndburn 11 worth more than £400,000 over the 12 months.

County bosses said the spread of cash across Lancashire’s 12 districts was based strictly on the needs of each.

The money is allocated for projects including resurfacing of classified A, B and C roads; bridge works; drainage improvements; and pothole repairs on unclassified village and estate roads.

Ribble Valley Tory MP Nigel Evans said: “This money is welcome.

“The cash is long-overdue as some roads in my constituency are in a disgraceful state.

“The county council has long-neglected rural roads in the Ribble Vally, which is very large district, and some road surfaces resemble the surface of the moon.”

Hyndburn borough leader Miles Parkinson, county councillor for Rishton and Clayton-le-Moors, said: “This money is welcome and needed.

“We would like more for our districts but accept it has to be allocated on the basis of need.”

Big projects in the new programme in Ribble Valley include £80,900 for surface-dressing in Mellor Lane and Ramsgreave Road; £57,000 for Whalley Road between Durham Road and York Lane; £71,000 for Cow Ark Road in Clitheroe; and £103,000 for Twiston Lane.

There is £85,500 for drainage work on Showley Road in Clayton-le-Dale; £273,000 to reconstruct a weak culvert at Pinder Hill near Waddington and £108,780 for enhanced signing and lining on the A59 between Chatburn and Gisburn.

Major schemes in Hyndburn include £78,000 for carriageway resurfacing in Richmond Road in Accrington; and £33,000 for each of two traffic signal refurbishment schemes in Accrington and Clayton-le-Moors.

There is £124,500 for culvert repairs in Queen Street, Great Harwood, and £46,600 for a zebra crossing in Blackburn Road, Oswaldtwistle.

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: “Our preventative approach to road maintenance has been highlighted as a good example by the Department for Transport.

“Our approach is to focus investment on intervening at the right time to stop good roads deteriorating than the traditional approach of always fixing the worst damage first.

“Maintenance schemes are identified on the basis of need, and the amount allocated to each district varies every year.”

The spokesman added; “This relies on using objective survey data on the condition of our roads to inform where and what kind of maintenance is carried out, which we do on a county-wide scale rather than a district by district basis, to ensure we’re managing the whole network effectively.

“The DfT has incentivised councils to adopt this ‘asset management’ approach, and from this year is due to allocate a greater proportion of the national funding pot to those who can demonstrate they are using their resources most effectively.”