Council wages war on potholes
Wiltshire Council’s highways team has waged war on potholes, filling more than
2,300 in the first week since the severe weather started to clear up.
Usually the council fills on average 200 potholes a week during the winter but
after the county was gripped by the extremely cold weather two weeks ago,
highways officers have been working round the clock filling more than 450 a
day.
The damage has been caused by the prolonged cold weather following a very wet
November and early December. Some of the road damage is serious and the
highways team is looking at which stretches need to be completely resurfaced.
There have been ground temperatures of minus seven degrees centigrade on and
off since mid December and only now after the temperature has risen and the ice
has thawed has the serious damage become visible.
The council did anticipate this and has its largest ever stock of a new highly
durable repair material. To help with the effort, staff have
been temporarily moved from their normal jobs. Last week (January 18th to
22nd), the council spent approximately £125,000 on the repairs.
Town centres and all A and B roads have already been patrolled and the most
serious potholes have been filled. This process is being repeated on minor
roads. There are between 60 and 80 people working on this at present.
Cllr Dick Tonge, cabinet member responsible for
highways, said: “We realise how important it is to get the roads repaired as
quickly as possible after this severe weather. Our staff are
making excellent progress working hard to complete the repairs."
Cllr Tonge added: “We would encourage people to
report serious potholes to CLARENCE on 0800 232323 and we will fill them as
soon as we can. However, we are prioritising the most serious ones, and would
ask people to bear this in mind when calling in.”
The council is also refilling grit bins in case there is more severe weather in
the coming weeks.
26th January 2010
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