Charlotte Cane MP calls for petition signatures to back soil-affected road repairs after trial site visit

Charlotte Cane, Lib Dem MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, is asking residents to sign a petition calling on Government to fix Cambridgeshire’s soil affected roads after visiting the County Council’s soil-affected roads trial site. 

Around 40% of Cambridgeshire’s road network sits on peat and other weak soils which expand and contract with changes in temperature and moisture. As a result, these roads can fail around twice as quickly and cost between two and four times more to maintain than normal roads. Continued movement of the underlying soil means that patch repairs often quickly fail, causing damage to reappear.

On Friday, Charlotte visited Cambridgeshire County Council’s soil-affected roads trial site on Upwell Road, near March. Here, the County Council are testing seven innovative solutions for rebuilding soil-affected roads, which include various methods of mitigating soil movement below the road surface. Charlotte also had the opportunity to watch a demonstration of ‘deep soil mixing’, a method hoped to stabilise road edges and heard more from County Council officials about the progress of the project.

The cost of bringing every soil-affected road across Cambridgeshire back up to a good standard is estimated to cost around £500 million — far beyond what local highways budgets can fund.

Charlotte is now calling on residents to sign her petition to fund repairs to Cambridgeshire’s soil-affected roads and deliver a long-term plan which recognises the unique burden of maintaining these roads. 

Charlotte Cane MP said:

“Across Ely and East Cambridgeshire, residents are frustrated by roads that seem to fall apart almost as quickly as they are repaired.

Here in Cambridgeshire, our soil-affected roads pose a unique problem. Roads build on peat and other weak soils expand and contract with the weather, meaning that they fail faster and cost far more to maintain than roads elsewhere in the country. Patchwork repairs simply aren’t enough – these roads need rebuilding at an estimated cost of around £500 million— something the council budget cannot absorb.

“Cambridgeshire County Council is already stepping up, so it’s been great to see the new, innovative solutions being trialled to deliver a long-term solution to our soil-affected roads. 

However, delivering this change means securing long-term funding from Government. I’m calling on Ministers to recognise the heavy maintenance burden created by soil-affected roads, deliver a plan to fix them, and provide long-term funding for their upkeep. 

I’m asking residents to sign my petition and send a message to Ministers that people in Ely and East Cambridgeshire need a plan to fix their roads, for good.”

Constituents can sign the petition here:
https://www.ecld.org.uk/campaigns/government-must-fund-repairs-to-cambridgeshires-soil-affected-roads