Roads across Caerphilly County Borough will have a £2.8 million funding boost through a Welsh Government-backed borrowing scheme.
The Welsh Government has given Caerphilly County Borough Council £193,826 under its Local Government Borrowing Initiative (LGBI), this in turn allows the council to borrow money to spend on roads.
Caerphilly is set to borrow £8.4m which will be spent over the nest three years, but paid back over the next 22. The repayments have been compared to paying off a mortgage.
The money supplied by the Welsh Government will go towards highway improvement projects, land drainage schemes, highway drainage schemes, and bridge refurbishments, across the borough from Brithdir to Crosskeys.
Cllr Tom Williams, the council’s cabinet member for highways, transportation and engineering, said: “The council is committed to providing continuous improvements to our highways for the benefit of all those who travel on them. The extra support we have received from Welsh Government will allow us to continue necessary improvements, while also providing numerous job opportunities for our local people, boosting local economy.”
Carl Sargeant, Welsh Minister for Local Government and Communities, added: “Thanks to close collaboration between the Welsh Government and local authorities we are seeing a significant increase in the ability of local authorities to fund major improvements to our highways. This money will help them to improve the condition of our roads, reduce travel times and increase safety for motorists and cyclists.”
Improvements will also be given the go ahead on carriageways and footways and roads in Bedwas, Newbridge, Ynysddu, Crosskeys, Crumlin, Aberbeeg and Trinant.