The majority of councils are accused of dealing with potholes with a quick fix that only lasts WEEKS, as estimates suggest repairing damaged UK roads would take NINE years and cost £12.64billion.
- It could cost every local authority in England and Wales £75.7m
- The Daily Mail campaigns to end the plague of potholes
Councils have been accused of failing to repair potholes properly, as it has been claimed that the majority use a temporary ‘throw in and go’ method of fixing them.
Motorists and cyclists frequently complain that potholes reappear months or even weeks after being repaired.
A manager at construction giant JCB believes this is because advice relies on a quick ‘hit and go’ solution – where damaged ground is not removed or repaired before the tarmac is used to fill it.
The Daily Mail is campaigning to end the pothole plague, which is costing drivers millions of pounds in repairs while putting cyclists at risk of injury or death. JCB has created a £200,000 ‘Pothole Pro’, a vehicle designed to clear and cut through damaged soil to prevent the pothole from collapsing again.
Ben Rawding, Managing Director of the Pothole Pro, said of the ‘hit and go’ method: ‘It’s only temporary – the pothole can collapse in two weeks to two years. I know of a municipality that fixed the same pothole four or five times in the space of a year.
Councils have been accused of failing to fix potholes properly, as it has been claimed the majority use a temporary ‘throw and go’ method to fix them
Industry figures released last year showed it would take nine years to clear the pothole backlog, at a cost of £12.64billion – the equivalent of £75.7 million pounds for every local authority in England and Wales.
Many councils claim they do not have enough funds from Whitehall to tackle potholes effectively.
Industry figures released last year showed it would take nine years to clear the pothole backlog, at a cost of £12.64billion – the equivalent of £75.7 million pounds for every local authority in England and Wales.
Councils are responsible for repairing blocked roads, while National Roads manage motorways and trunk A roads.
It is also understood that many local authorities use a combination of permanent and temporary methods to repair roads. However, Mr Rawding said too many council leaders were reluctant to change their ways.
Potholes form when water seeps through cracks in the road and freezes, then thaws.
Water expands once it turns to ice, leaving a void in the ground after it melts, which eventually collapses under the weight of moving vehicles.
Consumer disputes expert Scott Dixon, who runs thecomplaintsresolver.co.uk, said councils are only driving up their costs by not fixing potholes permanently.
David Renard, transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: ‘Councils are working tirelessly to repair our local roads, with a pothole being repaired by a council every 19 seconds.
“Councils would much rather spend money on preventing potholes. However, these challenges are compounded by soaring inflation, with a shortage of materials like bitumen driving up repair costs by more than 20%.”
“Shortage of materials”
Tell us about the worst potholes near you and we could FIX it for FREE!
We want you to name the biggest pothole in your area…and then we can come and fix it for free!
MailOnline and This is Money readers can submit photos of the worst potholes near them and you’ll automatically be entered into a draw to have it permanently removed.
When a winner is chosen, JCB will send their PotholePro crater repair machine to fix it.
Email potholes@dailymail.co.uk by following the five steps below:
1. Send an email with the subject ‘POTHOLE’.
2. Please attach an image no larger than 2MB of the pothole.
3. Include a brief description of the pothole and how serious you think it is.
4. Tell us where it is, including the name of the road and the nearest town or village.
5. Include your full name and a phone number in case we need to contact you for more details about the pothole you named – and possibly fix it.
We’ll choose a selection of the worst potholes you’ve named and put to readers’ vote which one should be repaired by JCB’s PotholePro for free.
Personal data will not be shared with any third parties.
> Find out more about the JCB PotholePro and how it could fix a road near you
