Today is the fifth anniversary of Storm Desmond, which wreaked havoc across the county.
In just 48 hours, there was 1.15 trillion litres of rain fell in Cumbria.
Nearly 800 bridges and 300km of roads were significantly damaged or destroyed.
It affected thousands of people and businesses.
The community effort to restore the county to normality was immense, with local communities, residents, businesses, volunteers, organisations, the emergency services and councils pulling together to help.
On the eve of the anniversary, Cumbria County Council paid tribute to everyone who helped and highlighted the end of a four-year £120 million infrastructure recovery project, which it led.
The project included repairs, replacement or restoration of more than 1,200 individual projects, from road patching repairs to full reconstruction of highways, slopes, retaining walls, culverts and bridges.
It culminated recently with the reopening of Pooley Bridge in October, representing a significant milestone in the county’s recovery, and the installation of the UK’s first stainless steel road bridge.
The majority of contracts for the work were awarded to local firms across the county, including Eric Wright Construction, Story Contracting, Metcalfe Plant Hire, Thomas Armstrong and Mott Macdonald.
Councillor Keith Little, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “The work our teams have done, side by side with local contractors, has been incredible.
“It’s not just the scale and quality of what’s been achieved on the ground that’s so impressive, but the work behind the scenes to project manage such a large number of schemes, across a wide area and involving numerous local communities has required real skill and dedication.
“It’s particularly pleasing that local Cumbrian contractors secured the vast majority of contracts to carry out works, keeping money and jobs local and ensuring that Cumbrian people have been the driving force behind the county’s recovery.
“I’d also like to thank the public for their patience – delays and disruption have been unavoidable with so many roads and bridges to repair or rebuild, and we know that causes frustration.
“The strength, passion, and resilience of our local communities across Cumbria has been vital to meeting the challenge of repairing our beautiful county – and making it more resilient to future weather events.”
