The Department for Transport (DfT) has invited highway authorities across the country to apply for a share of a £15m fund to improve traffic signals.
The new fund was announced by the DfT earlier this year, with the money to be spent on upgrading and maintaining traffic lights. Now, councils outside of London are being urged to try and secure their share of the investment.
The funding will be split into varying amounts up to a maximum of £500,000 and shared between as many as 50 local authorities. So far, the DfT’s deputy director for traffic and technology, Anthony Ferguson, has written to chief executives at over 120 highway authorities to invite them to bid.
Speaking on the matter, Ferguson said: “This funding is being allocated specifically to address the backlog in traffic signal maintenance and upgrading works in English local authorities, and cannot be used to replace existing allocated resource(s) but is funding for new work or additional top-up to existing programmes.”
Supporting this project is the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG). The group has stated that the subsidy will be given to authorities that best show an understanding of the value of planning for future technologies. They’re also required to demonstrate an appreciation of their area’s needs and priorities, as well as the importance of meeting wider targets.
The application process is already underway and will run until the 7th of May.
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