UK road

The UK Government has approved an additional £140m to revamp local roads hit by recent bad weather conditions in the country.

As part of the response to the damage caused by recent floods, support for councils to repair the roads that were most damaged will be increased by £36.5m, to £80m.

Following the prolonged period of severe weather, an additional £103.5m has also been allocated to councils across England, along with the nearly £900m which was already made available for road maintenance this year.

The latest announcement brings the total government investment approved to road maintenance to more than £1bn in 2013-14.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "Having the right infrastructure in place to support businesses and hardworking people is a crucial part of our long-term economic plan.

"This extra money will help make a real difference to millions of road users."

"This extra money will help make a real difference to the millions of road users and local residents who rely on local roads, giving them safer and smoother journeys."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: "It’s because of the difficult decisions we have made on public spending that we can afford to repair roads damaged by the severe weather as part of our long-term economic plan to secure Britain’s future and help hardworking people."

The additional funding, to be allocated on a formula basis, will be distributed to the majority of councils in England by the end of the week.

Image: The latest announcement brings the total government investment approved for road maintenance to more than £1bn in 2013-14. Photo: courtesy of Department for Transport.