Devon County Council is carrying out £7 million of repairs on roads damaged during the wettest winter on record.

The County Council programme of work is underway on almost 250 repair schemes, restoring nearly 40 miles (63km) of roads across the county.

Devon received £7 million of Severe Weather Recovery funding to help with much needed road repairs. This was a share of £183.5 million made available by the Department for Transport in response to the impact of the severe winter weather.

Since the grant allocation was announced earlier this year, Devon’s highways teams have been inspecting the areas with most potholes and discussing local need with its neighbourhood teams in order to draw up the programme. The work includes surfacing and patching work, targeting mostly A and B roads but also with a number of schemes on C roads and minor roads.

More than 39,000 potholes have been filled so far in 2014 and this latest schedule of repairs will add to the ongoing recovery across the county’s highways.

A council spokesman said: “Our highways teams have carried out a thorough inspection of our highway network in order to put together this programme and ensure that the funding is put to use where it can have most impact. The schemes which have been identified will cost effectively repair and protect parts of our network.

“£7 million will go some way towards covering the cost of some of the damage to Devon’s roads, but due to the size of our highway network it certainly won’t fund the repair of everything that was damaged over the winter. We have submitted a bid for a share of the £168million pothole grant and hopefully we will receive a fair share of this money which will enable the County Council to continue with the recovery effort.”

Among the roads which will be included in the programme are the A3052 at Clyst St Mary; A375 Sidford Road, Sidmouth; A377 Cowley Bridge Road, Exeter; B3183 Fore Street and Heavitree Road, Exeter; A3126 Kennedy Way, Tiverton; A377 Barnstaple Cross, Crediton; A3123 Mullacott Cross, Ilfracombe; A39 Eastern Avenue, Barnstaple; A381 Western Bypass, Totnes; A384 Ashburton Road, Dartington; A379 Exeter Road, Dawlish; A379 Fore Street, Kenton; A3072 Windmill Road, Holsworthy; A386 Kingsley Road, Bideford; A3079 Fowley Cross, Okehampton; and A3124 Two Post Cross, Whiddon Down.

Devon’s 8,000 mile road network, which is the biggest highway network of any local authority in the country, needs around £64 million of investment a year to maintain its current condition.

The County Council is also still dealing with the legacy of the remaining repairs from the £18 million of damage caused by the storms of 2012/13, which are being funded from capital allocations over the next few years.