Council has a new tool in the fight against potholes

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As part of its new contract, which started on 1 April, Buckinghamshire Highways has taken delivery of a different type of vehicle to help in the fight against potholes.

Used by many councils across the country, the Pothole Pro is a time-saving, three-in-one vehicle designed to make pothole repairs faster. First it cuts into the road surface where a pothole has appeared, it crops the perimeter of the hole neatly to allow a watertight repair, and then it brushes away and collects the debris afterwards. Highways teams just need to lay and compact asphalt into the prepared hole to complete the repair.

The benefits of using such a vehicle are speed but also that operators are safely in their cab, with no risk of the use of vibrating hand tools affecting their hands or fingers.

Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Steven Broadbent said: “I joined the crew training on the Pothole Pro last week and was impressed with the potential of the machine and the speed the crew picked up the skills to operate the machine safely. This is just one of a number of tools we will be using to invest in and improve our roads. Whilst the machine won’t be able to access everywhere or fix all types of defects it has great potential as another option we can use on our road network.”

Although potholes can occur at any time of the year, it is late winter and early spring where the weather can have a massive impact on the number of potholes forming and there is an increase in the number of potholes on the county’s roads after heavy rain followed by freezing temperatures.

Buckinghamshire Highways carries out regular inspections of the highway network by dedicated staff to ensure potholes and other defects are identified and repaired in a timely manner, keeping the highway safe. Problems on the roads and footways of Buckinghamshire should also continue to be reported using Fix My Street.

The newly formed ‘Buckinghamshire Highways’ is an alliance between Buckinghamshire Council and two highly experienced and industry-leading organisations - Balfour Beatty Living Places and Atkins, as well as a number of specialist framework contractors.

Covering all elements of highways maintenance and repair, including pothole repairs, gully cleansing, street lighting, winter gritting and resurfacing works, as well as larger improvement and development programmes, the new arrangements allow the council to take back greater control and increase accountability in effectively maintaining the county’s network of almost 2,100 miles of highways and 1,500 miles of footways.

One.network continues to be the way to check for roadworks near a location, find out who is carrying them out and when they should be finished.