A local authority has revealed the list of 21 roads which will be upgraded in the coming year thanks to money reallocated from the curtailment of the HS2 project.

The Department for Transport has given a £612,000 grant to Blackburn with Darwen Council to maintain the borough’s road network, paid for by the cancellation of the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the high-speed rail link to London.

The money was reallocated to create the Network North Plan - an £ 8.3 billion commitment to highway maintenance across England over the next 11 years.

It is to be used for the resurfacing of roads, cycleways, and pavements to prevent potholes and other road defects from reoccurring.

Lancashire Telegraph: Cllr Quesir Mahmood said the borough's roads are in a terrible stateCllr Quesir Mahmood said the borough's roads are in a terrible state

The additional funding from the Network North Plan represents a 30 per cent increase and will allow the highways department to re-surface approximately 6.2 kilometres of road a year, which is 1.2 per cent of the network, as opposed to 4.5km of the network with previous funding levels.

In Blackburn with Darwen in 2024/25 four roads will receive surface dressing schemes to prolong their life. They are:

  • Egerton Road Corridor in West Pennine ward;
  • Long Lane in Billinge and Beardwood ward;
  • The A666 in Darwen from Falcon Avenue to Birch Hall Avenue;
  • Rivington Road, Belmont

Another 15 will be resurfaced to address deterioration. They are:

  • Troy Street, Blackburn;
  • Accrington Road, Blackburn;
  • Billinge End Road, Blackburn;
  • Livingstone Road, Blackburn;
  • Sough Road, Darwen;
  • Vale Street, Darwen;
  • Amber Avenue, Blackburn;
  • Beryl Avenue, Blackburn;
  • Bolton Road, Blackburn;
  • Harwood Street, Darwen;
  • Lammack Road, Blackburn;
  • Walker Road, Blackburn;
  • Alderman Arthur Townsend Way, Blackburn;
  • Kelsall Avenue, Blackburn;
  • Greenhead Avenue, Blackburn.

Two roads will see patching schemes, to remediate any defects and improve the condition. They are:

  • Owlet Hall Road, Darwen;
  • Prospect Avenue, Darwen.

Blackburn with Darwen Council's growth boss, Cllr Quesir Mahmood, said: "We are grateful for this extra boost of funding from the Department of Transport.

"However, the borough’s road network is deteriorating rapidly and requires significantly more capital to maintain it.

"We would welcome further grants from the government to be able to do this.

"The highways department used their asset management strategy to prioritise work based on the current conditions of roadways, with the aim of extending the life of the road network and the overall impact on communities."