Local roads are starting to benefit from a £325,000 cash injection by South Gloucestershire Council in an effort to respond quickly to damaged roads and increased potholes caused by the recent sustained bad weather and repeated freeze and thaw.
With the numbers of potholes expected to reach twice the normal levels by the end of March, the council has already put a plan in place to deploy additional teams to tackle potholes and re-prioritise the existing highways maintenance budget to ensure the worst affected roads, where patching is not an option, can be resurfaced.
This is expected to increase the rate of repair to 2400 potholes per month, patch an extra 3750sqm of road and fully surface and extra 2.5km of carriageway.
Last year, the council ploughed an extra £2m into road resurfacing and this will be repeated in 2010/11.
Cllr Heather Goddard, executive member for communities, said: “Last year, we more than doubled the resurfacing budget to improve the standard of our local highway network.
“The unprecedented bad weather and repeated freeze and thaw have been a set back and residents will have noticed the increased number of potholes, but we are determined to respond quickly and repair our roads.
“We are deploying extra resources to make sure we get to them all as quickly as possible, but we hope residents will be understanding in the meantime.”
Additional teams have been deployed to tackle emergency potholes and an extra dedicated team has been brought in to deal with roads that are beyond pothole repair, but can be successfully dealt with without wholesale resurfacing.
Any residents who ‘Spot holes’ are encouraged to report them by visiting the council’s website – www.southglos.gov.uk/potholes – and filling in an online form or by ringing the Street Care helpdesk on 01454 868000.
Source: South Gloucestershire Council
