More than 25,000 potholes repaired in Shropshire since April

The Multihog in action near Ludlow

Shropshire Council has repaired more than 25,000 potholes across the county in the last eleven months, latest figures show.

In total, 25,267 potholes have been tackled since 13 April 2021 – an average of more than 515 every week – with more being repaired every day.

As part of efforts to improve the county’s roads, crews from Shropshire Council and its contractor Kier are out every day tackling potholes in a variety of ways.

Methods used include the new Multihog road planer which treats potholes and other defects more quickly and effectively, reduces the likelihood of potholes forming in the short-to-medium term and cuts down on the need for road closures.

The innovative Texpatch process, used to treat urban roads, provides a longer-lasting, smoother, neater finish compared to traditional pothole repairs.

Work is also carried out using the four Roadmaster vehicles, which are used to carry out jet-patching on rural roads. Roadmasters use compressed air to blow water or dirt out of a pothole that needs repairing and then fill it with hot bitumen and chippings. The repair is compacted by a roller and sealed with a layer of surface dressing – meaning a better quality of repair.

More traditional repairs by gangs are also carried out.

Meanwhile, the council’s annual resurfacing and surface dressing programmes help to prevent potholes forming in the first place.

Councillor Dean Carroll

Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways, said:

“We’ve made a commitment to improve the county’s roads and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

“We’ve repaired more than 25,000 potholes cross the county in less than am year, which is a fantastic achievement and provides real evidence of the work we’re carrying out every day and the progress that we’re making.

“Meanwhile, nearly 50 stretches of road across Shropshire have been, and are being, resurfaced between November and this month as part of our annual resurfacing programme. And 60 stretches of road across Shropshire were treated last year as part of our annual surface dressing programme, with many more set to be surface dressed this summer. This is work that will help to prevent potholes forming in future.

“In addition an extra £59m will be added to our highways budget in the next four years. To improve our roads will require a significant investment and this money gives us the financial means we need to improve the county’s roads – something that we all want to see happen.

“I want to say a big thank you to all the staff from Shropshire Council and from our partners Kier and WSP for all their continued hard work to improve Shropshire’s roads – it really is making a difference.”

For more information visit www.shropshire.gov.uk/highways