East Sussex County Council and its highways maintenance partner May Gurney have introduced a ‘seek and fix' approach to repairing potholes, while also doubling the number of teams working on the cracks in the county's roads.
After a snowy start to 2010, with some of the iciest conditions for decades, thousands of potholes have appeared throughout the county. The problem has been caused by a cycle of freezing and thawing water, which causes cracks in road surfaces to appear and widen.
To deal with this unprecedented number of potholes, we have had nearly 30 maintenance gangs working on the roads at any one time. The teams have also been using a new method for fixing potholes since December.
The new ‘seek and fix' approach means the highways teams can fill as many as potholes as possible in one area, in one visit. So far it has had impressive results with more than 12,000 potholes repaired.
East Sussex Highways reactive maintenance manager, Andy Brooke, said: “Our new approach has enabled us to target specific areas systematically repairing all the potholes we find in one area, in one visit. It makes complete sense. We no longer have to wait for a pothole to be reported. We have been able to reduce administration and make best use of the team's time. They are out on the road, fixing the problem as quickly as possible.
“We are filling potholes before they even get reported, saving time for our inspectors and the customer contact centre, and ensuring we're delivering a value for money service for the Council.”
Dale Foden, Head of Highway Operations at East Sussex County Council, said the new initiative was a good idea. “At a time when public sector spending is under pressure, we must make sure we are working as efficiently as possible,” he added.
“The new initiative introduced jointly by East Sussex County Council and May Gurney is allowing us to deliver more for less, while demonstrating our commitment to improving the condition of the roads and to keeping them safe.”
Despite the successful new repair system, members of the public still have an important part to play, a point stressed by Steve Ashman, General Manager for May Gurney in East Sussex.
“While we are making every effort to repair potholes as efficiently as we can, we will still rely on members of the public to report any problems, as they are the eyes and ears of the local community,” he said. “Potholes can be particularly dangerous to road users in the dark, when potholes cannot be seen and are a key cause of vehicle damage. So we urge local residents and road users to report any pothole problems they spot as soon as they can.”
East Sussex Highways Contact Centre number: 0345 60 80 193 or you can go to our web page:
Reference:
ESCC/MG1
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