A half-million pound drive to upgrade traffic lights in an East Lancashire borough has been launched.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is to spend £497,178 on modernising and 'future-proofing' the key highway signals at 57 sites.

The money will come from a government grant of £555,185.

The cash has been awarded by the Department for Transport's Traffic Signals Obsolescence Grant (TSOG).

The award is to be accepted by Thursday night's meeting of the authority's executive board which has also been recommended to authorise the upgrade programme.

A report to the senior councillors from growth and development boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood says: "Within Blackburn with Darwen we have 86 traffic signal sites, comprising of 58 junctions and 28 pedestrian crossings.

"Currently 67.45 per cent of the traffic signal sites require funding for future-proofing."

Works required on the signals fall into three categories:

  • 31.4 per cent of the sites have halogen lamps, of which 83.3 per cent can be retrofitted - the remaining 16.7 per cent require full electrical installation replacement.
  • 57 per cent require communication renewal or upgrading.
  • 11.6 per cent have street equipment structural issues which require rectifying.

Cllr Mahmood added: "The funding is capital funding to carry out the necessary works to upgrade and future-proof our traffic signals network over 57 sites that have been approved by the Department for Transport.

"The TSOG funding was aimed to upgrade obsolete traffic signal systems and improve reliability, primarily at sites using halogen lamps and legacy 2G/3G communications, but also aimed at unreliable and obsolete equipment more generally.

"Without upgrading the halogen lamp sites within the borough we run the risk of these sites quickly becoming obsolete.

"With the expected end of halogen lamp production, sites will no longer be able to operate and the efficiency of the network will be impacted.

"Upgrading the halogen lamps at many sites will also require full controller replacements due to the age of the controllers currently in operation.

"A small proportion of the asset has structural issues such as corrosion and compatibility with other equipment.

"Upgrading the traffic signal network with Blackburn with Darwen will support us with technological changes going forward.

"At present the age of a large proportion of the asset currently restricts us adopting new technologies.

"Similarly, we run the risk of assets becoming obsolete in a short period of time due to equipment or communication methods becoming obsolete.

"The estimate for the works identified in the report is £497,178.

"The works will provide an annual saving of £58,409 including estimated energy and maintenance savings."