A CONTRACTOR has been appointed by St Helens Council to carry out work to help prevent potholes on the borough’s roads.

The council has received funding of £259,687 from the Department for Transport (DfT), which it will use to carry out a micro-asphalt programme.

A delegated decision was taken on Thursday to appoint contractor for the 2018-19 works.

The micro-asphalt programme was detailed in the council’s engineering capital and revenue programme of works for 2018-19.

“The further allocation of £259,687 will augment the carriageway micro-asphalt preventative maintenance programme,” the report says.

“Micro-asphalt is used extensively throughout the UK to seal the carriageway at the optimum time to extend the life of the highway asset as recommended by the DfT highway maintenance efficiency programme.

“Where possible, this should be supported by funding through St Helens Council’s Councillor Improvement Fund, where ward councillors are in agreement, to enable further micro-asphalt programmes to be carried out across the borough.

“This would help prevent the formation of potholes in carriageways which are starting to show deterioration in their surface condition.”