Shropshire Council working flat out to deal with high number of potholes

Shropshire Council is working flat out to deal with the high and increasing number of potholes caused by fluctuating winter temperatures.

Each day the council’s highways teams are repairing an average of 260 road defects, including potholes, and completing the resurfacing and patching of roads to make the county’s 5,100 kilometres roads safe for all road users.

In January 2018 alone Shropshire Council received 1,200 requests for repairs to the road network, and the average for the year so far is approximately 150 per month – which demonstrates the effect the recent poor weather has had on the county’s road network.

The council is directing additional resources and has increased the number of teams tackling potholes from 12 to 25, and further additional resources to undertake larger scale repairs have been ordered from its contractor for March, utilising additional pothole funding received from central government.

Councillor Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“We recognise that residents are concerned about the number of potholes appearing on our roads and we’re working flat out throughout the county to address the problem on a priority basis.

“Unfortunately, repeated fluctuations in weather conditions – from above to below freezing – coupled with heavy rainfall, create the worst possible conditions for road surfaces, and result in an increase in the number of potholes. This is a problem that many other local authorities are also facing.

“I want people to be aware that we are working each day to address this problem, but also ask them to help us by reporting any potholes that they spot.

“We carry out regular inspections of the roads but potholes can happen very fast, and with over 5,000 kilometres of roads, cycleways, footpaths and verges in Shropshire we also rely on such reports so that we can ensure all potholes are treated.”

As cold and wet weather conditions are not always conducive to carrying out effective and lasting repairs, some of the work carried out is of a temporary nature. The bulk of the council’s annual road repair budget is invested in the summer months when working conditions are better, and longer lasting repairs can be carried out.

From 1 April 2018 Shropshire Council’s new highways contractor, Kier, will take on responsibility for repairing road defects – including pothole repair, resurfacing, surface dressing and patching – and will immediately begin work at a number of sites that have already been identified as requiring work.

Potholes are categorised according to a national standard of acceptable road surface quality.

The severity of the pothole and, therefore, the urgency of treating it, is determined by the risk it poses to road users. Factors to be taken into account include location, size and depth of pothole; traffic type, speed and volume; road type, alignment and visibility and also the position in relation to road width.

To report a pothole, click here to visit the Shropshire Council website.

If a pothole has been outlined with paint it has already been inspected and programmed to be fixed, so doesn’t need to be reported.

Further information

Shropshire Council isn’t responsible for potholes on the following roads:

• Private roads – these are the responsibility of residents of each private road.
• M54, A5, A49 (south of Shrewsbury); A458 (Shrewsbury to Welshpool); A483 (Llanymynech to Oswestry) — these are the responsibility of Highways England
• Roads on private land, eg. retail parks.