HIGHWAYS bosses in York and North Yorkshire have been handed an additional £3.5 million by the Government to repair potholes caused by severe winter weather.

City of York Council is to receive £256,632 out of a £100 million funding boost announced by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to help repair almost two million potholes nationwide.

North Yorkshire County Council will get £3,285,049 towards repairs of roads damaged by the snow, frost and ice caused by recent blasts of Siberian weather dubbed the ‘Beast from the East.’

York will also get an extra £72,000 to extend its trial of pothole spotting equipment mounted on vehicles to collect data on road and path conditions, which will ultimately enable it to repair potholes before they occur, while North Yorkshire will also receive an extra £50,000 to develop the use of connected vehicles to collect data on the condition of road signs.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council has also been given an extra £1,251,395 towards pothole repairs.

York council leader Ian Gillies said the authority contacted Department for Transport only last week to request additional funds and was delighted by the response.

“Since the beginning of March, we’ve temporarily repaired over 1,000 potholes and doubled our resource on the ground,” he said.

“However, we recognise we’ve still a long way to go and want to thank residents for their patience and understanding.”

Deputy leader Andrew Waller said cyclists and other road users were facing hazards and the additional funding would help to deliver longer lasting repairs which were essential after the long winter.

Cllr Peter Dew, executive member for transport, thanked highways staff for making temporary repairs in all weathers and conditions to help keep the city moving.