05/04/2022 - Permalink

Multihogs to tackle more potholes across Shropshire this month

Related topics: Highways, transport and environmental maintenance

A Multihog in action near Ludlow

Shropshire Council’s new Multihog road planer machines will be tackling more potholes and other defects on roads across Shropshire this month [April 2022].

The Multevo Multihog planes off the road surface to enable a squared-off hole to be filled by a following gang. It’s quicker than having to saw-cut and break-out the defective road by hand – tackling potholes and other defects more quickly and effectively

Using the Multihog the council can reduce the likelihood of potholes forming in the short- to-medium term and cut down on the need for road closures.

This month the Multihogs and their crews will be treating the following roads:

Crew one (central)

  • 4 to 8 April – B4386 Chirbury to Aylseford Bridge
  • 11 to 14 April – Stockton Road, Marlrton to county boundary
  • 16 April – B4379 Sherriffhales
  • 19 to 20 April – A490 Chirbury to Powys boundary
  • 21 to 22 April – A489 County boundary to Churchstoke
  • 23 April – C5062 Uffington village from Church Road to Berwick Wharf
  • 25 to 30 April – A488, three sections

Crew two (north)

  • 29 March to 8 April – B5476 Wem to Tilstock
  • 11 April – Sharps Drive, Whitchurch
  • 12 to 13 April – Caldecott Crescent, Whitchurch
  • 14 April – Alexandra Road, Market Drayton
  • 19 to 22 April – A41 Bletchley to Ternhill
  • 25 April – Drenewydd, Park Hall
  • 26 April to 4 May – Plas Warren to Cross Lanes

Crew three (south)

  • 4 to 5 April – B4373 Nordley
  • 6 to 8 April – Honeysuckle
  • 11 to 12 April – B4368 Aston Munslow to New House Farm
  • 13 to 14 April – B4368 Monkhopton to Aston Eyre
  • 19 to 26 April – B4368 Clunsford Bridge to Peddlers Rest
  • 23 and 30 April – Little Brampton through to Red House team rooms

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

“The Multihog is a hugely important part of our work to tackle potholes and improve the county’s roads. Since we started using it last year use of the Multihog has shown a dramatic improvement in permanent road repairs, and it now forms an important part of our strategy to deliver meaningful repairs to roads across Shropshire.”

Since the Multihog was officially adopted in late March 2021, the volume of the road network repaired has risen to around 150m² per gang each day, with three teams deployed across the county. This means an average of 9,000m² of road can be treated each month.

Other methods used to tackle potholes include the innovative new Texpatch process, which is being used to treat urban roads and provides a longer-lasting, smoother, neater finish compared to traditional pothole repairs.

And four Roadmaster vehicles are being used to carry out jet-patching on rural roads.

More traditional repairs by gangs are also carried out.

Since April 2021, more than 25,000 potholes have been repaired across the Shropshire Council area.

Want to know more? Here’s a short video showing a Multihog in action.