Transport minister Anthony Browne in Warwickshire to see how HS2 money being spent on repairing potholes

MOTORISTS will have smoother journeys between Henley and Stratford as government money is used to improve the A3400.

Transport minister Anthony Browne was in Wootton Wawen and Henley yesterday (Wednesday) to visit the works to fix potholes on the route between the two towns and up to the M40 junction at Lapworth.

Mr Browne, Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire, was shown the technology being used in Warwickshire to improve roads, including strategic management software that allows highways officers to prioritise the most important projects according to road usage levels and proximity to schools and other important services.

The work is being funded with money reallocated from the abandoned northern section of the HS2 rail project. Warwickshire has £2 million to spend this financial year as part of a £120 million, 11-year package.

“People in Warwickshire deserve smooth and safe roads, so it was great to see ongoing works on the A3400, which will better connect the local area with a key interchange onto the M40, and provide residents with safer, speedier journey’s,” he said.

“As we continue to put drivers back in the driving seat, our reallocated HS2 funding from Euston will help ensure that more and more roads across Warwickshire can be resurfaced.”

The government is also encouraging councils to use long-term solutions for road resurfacing. It said Warwickshire is deploying bespoke ‘find and fix’ teams to root out and repair troublesome potholes on rural routes, and fill, that could go undetected.