County to see road improvement after investment
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL have announced that more miles of roads across the region will be strengthened and repaired this summer; which follows a £15 million investment by the authority to use for highway maintenance.
The funding will be used for planned maintenance and reactive repairs during the summer period to address the significant deterioration over the winter due to the adverse weather the county experienced. Work includes thirty-five resurfacing schemes to repair the roads needing the most treatment, bringing the total to 113 schemes that are expected to be completed in 2026 totalling nearly forty miles.
Additional surface treatment locations will further be a priority with 139 schemes set to be completed in 2026 totalling a distance of over 129 miles. Since April, a tally of 102 locations have been completed with funding allowing for more sites to be included across the region.
Multiple additional gangs are due to also undertake patching treatments to replace damaged sections of road; which will be localised repairs fixing specific defects such as potholes, cracking, rutting, or surface failure without resurfacing the entire road. It comes after 90,000 potholes and road defects were repaired over the last financial year.
Councillor Steve Forster, Hampshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Passenger Transport, said: “Using the warmer, drier months to step up road repairs is a key priority, helping us make our roads more durable and resilient. That’s why we are investing £15 million to deliver this essential maintenance work.”
“Our highways teams are working day and night to strengthen and prolong the life of Hampshire’s roads. In the 12 months since April 2025, we have completed around 90,000 pothole and road defect repairs, following an increase in reports over the winter months. Alongside this work, we will continue to deliver our annual resurfacing programme and respond to issues as they arise. Despite these challenges, I am confident we are doing everything possible with the resources currently available to us.”
He continued: “Years of underinvestment in national highways funding, combined with rising costs, inflation, heavier vehicles and more extreme weather, are placing increasing pressure on road networks across the country. As such, I have recently written to Government to renew our call for sufficient, long-term investment in local highways. While we fully support the move towards preventative maintenance, funding remains well below what is needed to address the scale of the challenge. As a result, councils continue to be trapped in a cycle of reactive repairs while road conditions deteriorate.
“Hampshire’s highways maintenance backlog is now estimated at more than £550 million and has grown over the past two years as a result of insufficient national funding. Without a step change in investment, it will not be possible to provide the resilient, high-quality road network that residents and businesses rightly expect.”
Over the summer months and into autumn, a range of surface treatments and other works will be carried out. Roads are assessed and prioritised using condition data, ensuring limited funding is focused on those most in need of improvement.
Readers can see more information about road closures by visiting https://one.network/, whilst potholes and other road defects can be reported at www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems or via the OurHants app.
PICTURED: Roads across Hampshire will be strengthened and repaired following the County Council’s fifteen million pound investment, including those in Gosport and Fareham.
