Council vows to sort pothole problems on Shropshire’s roads

A number of concerns have been raised recently about the number of potholes on – and the condition of – many of the county’s roads.

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

“I share people’s frustration about the condition of some of our roads. I’m a driver and a cyclist so I know from personal experience that many of our roads are in a poor condition as a result of the cold, wet winter weather but I’m determined to sort things as soon as we can.

“Our highways officers are busy working with our contractor Kier to treat the exceptionally high number of potholes that have appeared recently. This time of year is always challenging, but we have also experienced more flooding and have had the coldest January in 10 years, which all impacts our roads. It’s also important to remember that the crews that treat potholes are also having to deal with flooding issues, gritting the roads, and working on COVID-19-safety measures in our towns.

“It’s a really challenging job but we’re aware of the problems, we’re out there, and we ask people to bear with us. But people can still help us by reporting any potholes that they come across so that we make sure that they’re treated.

Councillor Steve Davenport inspects the resurfacing work carried out in Ditton Priors last year

“We want Shropshire to have the best possible roads and we’ve begun to implement an ambitious plan that will see significant improvements to the way that the council manages and maintains the county’s roads. This includes improvements in the ways of working to ensure that more potholes are being fixed permanently first time, and a greater focus on proactive work such as resurfacing and surface dressing to help prevent potholes forming in the first place.

“Last year we invested over £6m carrying out an unprecedented amount of resurfacing of our roads, as well as surface dressing 276km of roads – the equivalent of resurfacing the route from Shrewsbury to London – which is twice the amount carried out in previous years.”

To report a pothole go to www.shropshire.gov.uk or call 0345 678 9006.