The first year of Surrey County Council's new highways contract saw almost 300 miles of road resurfaced or repaired, which is further than driving the distance from London to Land's End.

Last April, the county council drove a hard bargain when it signed a series of contracts with companies to improve and maintain Surrey roads. The largest of these was with May Gurney for a £60 million, six-year deal, which represents a £4.1 million annual saving on the previous highways contract.

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Since then a total of 611 projects have been carried out. These included the resurfacing of a 1.2 mile stretch of the A24 Horsham Road at Beare Green, which saw workers grafting overnight for three weeks straight.

Despite technical challenges, the highways team was able to keep the A24 open throughout to avoid motorists having to take a 35 mile diversion.

John Furey, Surrey County Council's Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, said: "Surrey's roads are the fourth busiest in Britain and are under tremendous strain. Maintaining and improving them is a massive operation and we have seen some real progress this year.

"Our aim is to provide the highest quality roads we can at the very best value for money. The contract with May Gurney is saving taxpayers £4.1 million a year while providing faster and higher quality road improvements."

(CD)