35,000 potholes filled - Record year for road repairs after freezing arctic winter

A record 34,998 potholes have been filled on the East Riding’s roads so far in 2018.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s highways maintenance team has repaired more potholes in the first 10 months of this year than in any other full year on record.

It is more than double the amount of potholes repaired four years ago.

More potholes have appeared on the East Riding’s roads this year because of the long period of freezing weather we experienced last winter, when the ‘Beast from the East’ descended on the country.

Potholes are caused by wet and cold conditions, when water seeping into cracks in the road surface or into the soil beneath freezes, expands, then thaws, weakening the structure of the road.

Repairing them is a year-round operation for the council’s highways maintenance team.

Crews are out working on the roads across the East Riding every day, filling potholes and carrying out patching work on surfaces showing wear and tear.

The team also has an emergency crew on-call 24-hours a day, ready to repair the most dangerous potholes.

Another weapon in its arsenal is the Roadmaster, a specially-adapted lorry which can spray tar and chippings into a pothole to repair it in a matter of minutes.

Councillor John Barrett, portfolio holder for operational services at the council, said: “This has been a particularly bad year for potholes, as drivers will know, but our highways maintenance team has been working non-stop to get them filled and to carry on improving our roads.

“We aim to repair potholes as soon as they are reported to us, but because of the sheer size of the East Riding – we have more than 2,000 miles of road – and our limited resources, we can’t always repair them straight away.

“But a huge amount of the work is carried out by our highways staff to prevent potholes from forming in the first place.”

The proactive action involves carrying out regular road inspections, with staff checking all main roads at least monthly and residential streets at least annually to see if any faults have developed which meet criteria for repairs.

This year the council invested £2.15million on its annual surface dressing programme, which saw improvements carried out at 170 sites across the area. The process seals the road from water ingress, helping to prevent potholes from forming in the first place.

During the four-month scheme around 15,000 tonnes of stone chippings were laid on 660,000 square metres of road – the equivalent of 70 miles of continuous road.

Councillor Barrett said: “Although the team carries out regular inspections and repairs, we still need residents to report potholes to us, because our staff can’t be everywhere.

“Last year residents reported 3,700 potholes to us, which is only a fraction of the thousands we repaired, so please keep reporting them to us.”

Residents can report potholes to the council via the website www.eastriding.gov.uk and search for ‘Road and footpath maintenance’. If an emergency repair is needed please call 01482 393939.