More Resources to Pothole Repairs - but do they require potloads more money?

ROAD REPAIRS ARE SET TO GET A BOOST as the East Riding Council increases the number of teams carrying out work across the area following the Big Freeze. But not everyone is confident that the road system can be repaired in the long term.

From today (Monday, 10th January 2011) 14 teams of council workers, an increase of 4 teams, will be responding to reports of damage to the East Riding’s 3,500km (2,100 miles) of roads. 

Councillor Matthew Grove, portfolio holder for highways and emergency planning, said: “December’s weather was among the most severe on record and it has taken a toll on our roads. We are allocating additional resources in responding to the damage. Our highways engineers are continually inspecting the network and updating our schedule of repairs and including those reports from members of the public. To repair the entire network is likely to take some time, even if the severe weather doesn’t return and cause further damage and hamper the repair work." 

However, Driffield Councillor Paul Rounding has expressed concern to the Driffield Times that the scale of the problem is so massive that it is only a matter of time before the roads crumble again. “What they are doing now is only a temporary measure because it’s a specialist job and it’s expensive. You can go for a quick fix and just fill it in and that will be it for a few months but you can guarantee it will blow out again”.

Potholes or surface damage to roads can be reported to the council's streetscene team on 0845 6001666 or by email to: highways.customer.care@eastriding.gov.uk

They can also be reported very easily on Fix My Street.

Pothole Facts from www.potholes.co.uk

• Potholes are a major factor in causing axle and suspension failure, which counts for a third of mechanical issues on UK roads and costs British motorists an estimated £2.8 billion every year.
• Authorities currently pay out more than £50 million in compensation claims due to poor roads.
• Road maintenance in England and Wales is underfunded by around 50%, or £1 billion every year.
• At current maintenance levels, the average frequency for a road to be resurfaced in England is once every 65 years.
• If all authorities were given the budgets they need to fix their roads, it would take English authorities 11 years to catch up with the current backlog, and Welsh authorities 16 years.