Potholes: an open letter from our Cabinet member for highways

Dear residents, businesses and road users,

In recent weeks there has been a big increase in the number of potholes on roads across Shropshire. In January 2113 new potholes were reported compared to 1216 in January last year – that’s an increase of 77%.

Unfortunately, winter is the time of year when potholes most commonly appear and this year the situation is worse as a result of recent extreme periods of wet, cold and further wet conditions – a situation faced by other councils across the country.

Water gets into cracks in the road, then freezes and expands, and that’s why we’ve all seen a big increase in the number and severity of potholes. Such is the dramatic rise in the number of potholes and their severity we cannot tackle them all at once, and it’s not always possible to make permanent repairs due to emergencies or where road conditions don’t allow. So, on occasions we resort to a temporary safety repair until we can return in better weather to make a permanent repair. I know that this can annoy people but please be patient as we tackle the pothole backlog.

I am determined to improve Shropshire’s roads and when the new administration took control of Shropshire Council last May we made it clear that tackling potholes and improving the county’s roads was one of our top priorities. We immediately set up a new pothole repair team to tackle potholes on rural roads and so far, they have tackled over 2200 potholes.

Since May last year we’ve tackled a total of more than 25,000 potholes on roads across Shropshire – an average of more than 595 every week. However, to deal with the increase in potholes we have created three new repair teams from existing staff and increased the use of night-time working so that the average number of potholes repaired each week is over 800.

Of course, we can only carry out the work that our resources allow. In Shropshire we have one of the biggest road networks to maintain in England (the council is responsible for 3200 miles of roads) but we receive lower funding per mile than many other councils.

However, with the limited resources we receive we need to improve the roads and make them less susceptible to potholes as best we can.

How are we doing that?

Through our annual resurfacing and surface dressing programmes we’ve been working to improve the county’s roads and prevent potholes forming in the first place. Since May last year 25 stretches of roads – measuring 61km – have been surfaced dressed, and more than 40 roads – measuring over 50km– have been resurfaced.

We’re about to begin this year’s programme of surface dressing, with 72 stretches of road across the county being treated to help prevent problems arising in future. And we’ll soon be announcing our resurfacing programme for this year.

We have made changes to our highways contract to help ensure that we carry out more proactive surfacing work, and more, better, reactive repairs

And we’ve received an increased funding allocation from the Government that we’ll be investing in the county’s roads – but we’ll continue to lobby Government for fairer funding for Shropshire.

A warm, dry spell of weather will also be of great help – ensuring that we can carry out more repairs, and reducing the number of newly created potholes.

In short, I’m determined to improve the county’s roads and to make them safer for all who use them. I know this will be a challenge, but it’s a challenge that councils are facing across the country and one that I’m determined to meet here in Shropshire.

It’s also a challenge that you can help us with. If you spot a pothole or series of potholes in need of repair, please let us know. To report a problem, use the FixMyStreet app or visit our website – www.shropshire.gov.uk/highways. Alternatively, you can call us on 0345 678 9006. I know that there have been problems with FixMyStreet where potholes are reported to be fixed when this is not always the case. We are working to improve FixMyStreet but, in the meantime, do let me know if a response is not accurate.

I want to record the thanks of everyone at the council for the hard work undertaken by our teams who are out across the county every day fixing potholes, often in terrible conditions and at night. If you see work taking place please be patient and respectful. Our teams are working as hard as they can.

I am determined that the situation will improve over the coming months.

Yours

Councillor David Vasmer
Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and environment