The recent announcement of new infrastructure funds by chancellor Helen Reeves attracted plenty of attention, not least because of the billions of pounds that it will provide for enhancing transport infrastructure across the English city regions.
Some of that will generate a lot of excitement about new developments, such as the much-awaited tram system for Leeds and Bradford, some form of mass transit system (though not an underground) for Bristol, and the extension of existing systems elsewhere, such as the Manchester Metrolink to Stockport and the Tyne and Wear Metro to Washington.
However, while gleaming new trams on freshly-laid tracks may make the headlines, the less glamorous but also important work of concrete repairs will take up some of the funding.
As the Manchester Evening News reports, one of the important tasks the city region faces will be to upgrade the M60 motorway, even while new railways, tram lines and other schemes – like the stadium-led regeneration of Old Trafford – take centre stage.
It is also worth noting that concrete repair work may be essential in ensuring that some of the transport schemes can take place. Many of the metro systems are partly built on old railway lines, and some of the extensions will be too, making work on these important.
For instance, while the Tyne and Wear Metro extension will reuse disused railway lines in Washington, it may require substantial work to strengthen and repair the old infrastructure.
The Metrolink may require similar work along the old railway alignment between the current terminus at East Didsbury and Stockport, not least in what is currently a pedestrian foot tunnel that the new line would immediately pass through after leaving the East Didsbury stop.
Such work may not get the headlines, but it will go a long way to ensuring that old lines are made ready for new tracks and existing road infrastructure is kept in good shape.