An investment in pothole-busting technology has paid dividends for a local council which has smashed through its target to fix 6,000 road defects in six months.
However, transport experts say there is still much to do to make highways across Staffordshire – used for millions of commuter journeys each year – fit for purpose with permanent repairs.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s highways team have managed to fix over 6,500 defects in four months thanks to their use of the latest speedy machine technology. The team estimates that it would have only been able to repair an estimated 222 in the same period using traditional methods.
Meanwhile, Staffordshire County Council is carrying out a multi-million pound rolling programme in road resurfacing and fixing, including ongoing projects in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Burton, Stafford and Cannock.
It comes after the AA warned earlier this year that pothole damage to vehicles has hit a five year high with the motoring organisation dealing with 631,852 pothole related incidents in 2023.
AA President Edmund King said: “Last year AA patrols dealt with more than 600,000 pothole-related incidents which on a national scale will have cost drivers almost half a billion pounds.
“Currently, we often have a vicious circle of: pothole formed; damage caused; pothole patched; pothole reappears with more damage caused – when what we need are more permanent repairs.”
Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s solution has been to bring in the latest fixing machines, such as the Pothole Pro from Staffordshire excavator JCB.
The investment paid off with the highways team completing 18 years’ worth of work in just two and a half years.
Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for Transport, Infrastructure and Regeneration said: “The stats speak for themselves, the team – as always – work tirelessly to keep over 600 miles of road network in good condition.
“We are the gateway to the North, South, East and West of the country, and our roads really do take a hammering.
“Defects can include anything from potholes, resurfacing, raised ironworks and blocked gulleys which all affect road users.
“But we won’t stop here. We know there is still much to do to get our roads into good nick. Additionally, winter is fast approaching and our teams focus on road safety with gritting and repairing as much of the highway as they can.”
Need to do much much better as my car has been damaged consistently by this scourge before and after this drive. They need to dramatically raise the target clearly. We pay our taxes, and they’ve broken their contract with us taxpayers to provide us with roads fit for purpose.