But highways chiefs have warned the bumper sum won’t fix all the problems on the region’s routes.

MORE than �260,000 will be spent boosting Sidmouth roads ravaged by extreme winter weather.

But highways chiefs have warned the bumper sum won’t fix all the problems on the region’s routes.

The huge cash investment is part of an extensive schedule of road repairs is underway across Devon - with more than 2,000 stretches earmarked for improvements.

The Devon County Council (DCC) driven initiative will utilise a �9.3million grant received from the Department for Transport earlier this year.

Funding is being used to repair around 125 miles of roads in more than 50 communities across the region.

Every scheme is scheduled for completion by April 2012 and details of exactly how the money is being spent will be revealed next month.

“This grant helps us carry out more repairs than we could have hoped to achieve, but it won’t solve all of the problems on our roads,” said Councillor Stuart Hughes, DCC cabinet member for highways and transportation.

“It’s been impossible to keep pace with the damage caused to Devon’s highways over the past three winters.

“Our priority is to keep A and B roads in good condition because they carry the most traffic and are most important to the local economy.

“We’ve also ensured that members’ local knowledge has been taken into account to draw together this programme.”

DCC says it highways teams carried out an extensive assessment of potholes and structural damage to its road network.

The authority added experts identified urgent repairs totalling �14million, which will be carries out this year.

The �9.3million cash kitty will be used for permanent repairs rather than pothole filling.

Schemes have been selected where structural patching or resurfacing will ensure roads will be more resilient to potholes forming again.

The work focuses on the busiest routes across Devon, and roads in towns where five or more potholes, on a 100 metre stretch, have been repaired in the last year.

A record 200,000 potholes were fixed on Devon’s roads in 2010 – five times more than in 2009.

Last year, DCC spent �11million on repairing roads damaged by the severe weather of the previous winter.