The general quality of many roads in the municipality of Coevorden is below par. “The status is not good, and I express myself cautiously. We will have to invest extra in this.”
Alderman Erik Holties (BBC2014) reported this on Thursday evening during the budget meeting in Coevorden. An amount of 3.8 million euros has been set aside in the budget for road maintenance for the coming period, but that will not be nearly enough to tackle all the work. “I can now make a decision on this: we are not going to make it,” said the councilor.
He announced that the council will provide an overview early next year of what needs to be done and on which roads. On this basis, Coevorden wants to determine what maintenance level is desirable. “At that time we will also have to ask for extra money to raise the general quality to a higher level.”
The councilor was responding to concerns expressed by, among others, Henk Bouwers (PPC), who states that roads in rural areas in particular are substandard, and Hans Kamps (BBC2014), who expects that longer delays in maintenance will lead to even greater investments.
Bert Albring (VVD) subsequently commented on the stated amount of 3.8 million. “It has already been stated that more money should be made available to improve the road conditions, but now I see the same amounts included as last year. So we won’t be able to manage with that.”