New way of repairing potholes to be rolled out across Shropshire

An innovative new way of repairing Shropshire’s potholes more quickly, quietly and effectively is to be rolled out across the county following a successful trial in Whitchurch and Market Drayton, last month [August 2019].

The work – which will be carried out on urban roads – will be carried out overnight – helping to minimise disruption to residents, businesses and road users.

Its focus is to repair a large number of potholes, and it’s anticipated that up to 40 could be repaired each night – the current rate is around 20 per week.

Under the new process, potholes are cleaned out, filled with a unique material called Texpatch, then covered with a neat, square patch. This will provide a longer-lasting, smoother, neater finish compared to traditional pothole repairs, and seals up all joints, which should result in an increased life span for the repair.

Using this process for treating urban potholes will also free up crews to tackle potholes in rural areas.

The work will be carried out by Kier – Shropshire Council’s highways contractor – and L&R Roadlines.

Treating a pothole using the new Texpatch material

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

“No-one likes potholes and we want to repair them as quickly, efficiently and effectively as we can. The trial in Whitchurch and Market Drayton was a big success and showed a fall in the time it takes to repair a pothole, and also a fall in the cost of the repair. I’m delighted that we can now roll this new process out across the county.”

The work is also much quieter than traditional repairs. As it doesn’t require the use of mechanical tools – other than the air hose which will be used to clean out debris from the defect – it can be carried out at night. And night working allows more work to be carried out as there aren’t the same traffic restrictions.

Likewise, the process is so quick it’s classed as mobile works and therefore traffic management won’t be needed for the vast majority of the repairs, reducing disruption and inconvenience to road users while work is carried out.

The work is aimed at reducing safety defects, but in the future could also target minor defects not usually rectified under Shropshire Council’s highway safety inspection manual (see note 2). This will help in preventing future potholes appearing as part of a proactive treatment.

Further information

1) The traditional ‘cut out and fill’ method of repairing potholes doesn’t lend itself to night working due to the need for Stihl chain saws, jack hammers and Wacker plates. It also generates large amounts of waste that needs to be disposed of.

2) Shropshire Council’s highways inspection manual sets out the council’s requirements for highway safety inspections – which are designed to identify all defects likely to create danger or serious inconvenience to network users or the wider community.

3) Potholes are due to be treated in the following towns and villages:

Whitchurch
Market Drayton
Wem
Ellesmere
Weston Rhyn
St Martins
Gobowen
Whittington
Oswestry
Trefonen
Treflach
Nantmawr
Lynclys
Pant
Llanymynech
Shrewsbury
Bayston Hill
Hanwood
Pontesbury
Minsterley
Shifnal
Albrighton
Cosford
Much Wenlock
Broseley
Bridgnorth
Alveley
Highley
Cleobury Mortimer
Ludlow
Craven Arms
Bishops Castle
Clun
Church Stretton
West Felton
Ruyton-XI-Towns
Baschurch
Bomere Heath
Harmer Hil
Grinshill
Clive
Shawbury