DfT launches fund to help councils with cost of fixing ageing road infrastructure

The UK government has opened a new funding programme offering targeted support aimed at repairing ageing bridges, flyovers and tunnels across England, as part of a wider effort to improve the resilience of the road network and support economic growth.

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The Department for Transport’s “Structures Fund”, worth around £1bn, will allow local authorities to bid for support to fix infrastructure that they cannot afford to repair within existing budgets.

Announcing the scheme, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said, “Crumbling bridges and worn-out flyovers have been patched up rather than properly fixed for far too long, leading to frustrating weight limits and lengthy diversions.”

The fund is intended to address long-standing maintenance backlogs on local road networks, with eligible projects including the repair or replacement of bridges, flyovers, tunnels, retaining walls and other structures at risk of failure. Authorities can submit bids for individual schemes or packages of works where multiple assets in an area require intervention.

The programme forms part of a broader government infrastructure strategy, which includes £24bn of capital investment in roads between 2026 and 2030. Ministers have positioned the Structures Fund as a way to tackle safety concerns and improve reliability for both passenger and freight transport, particularly where structural weaknesses have led to restrictions on heavy vehicles or route closures.

Industry figures have broadly welcomed the initiative. Steve Denston, managing director focr civils at WSP and vice president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said, “Like much of the UK’s essential infrastructure, local highways structures are ageing, performing at levels beyond the original design expectations, and suffering from more extreme weather.

“The DfT Structures Fund is an invaluable initiative that will provide a step change in funding for critical infrastructure, releasing economic growth and safeguarding community assets.”

The government said councils are encouraged to submit initial proposals by June 2026, ahead of a final application deadline in early August. Funding decisions are expected in autumn 2026, with successful projects required to be completed and reopened to traffic by March 2030.

The scheme also reflects growing concern about the condition of local transport infrastructure. Nationally, ageing bridges and structures have faced increasing pressure from heavier traffic and more frequent extreme weather events, prompting calls for sustained investment to prevent failures and disruption.