Grant behind repairs of a further 120,000 potholes in Hampshire

Hampshire County Council announced it has fixed an average of 10,000 holes a week as part of a £17.5 million scheme to fix the dreaded craters and patch up carriageways and bridges.

Roads bosses launched the works after securing the multi-million war-chest from Westminster to tackle roads badly damaged during the severe flooding in winter 2013/14.

The council received one of the highest grants in the south-east from the Government’s Flood Recovery and Pothole Repair Fund after demonstrating it was one of the best and most innovative looking after roads.

The windfall came on top of the authority’s annual £56 million highways maintenance budget used to maintain the county’s 5,280 miles of roads and accompanying pavements, verges, bridges and streetlights.

The extra grant includes £6m dedicated to fixing potholes, junctions, roadside edges, joints and large patching.

Council transport executive member Councillor Seán Woodward said: “We have shown we are one of the leading areas in the country in our determination to beat potholes, and received substantial government funding as a result.

“This money has been a great help in reducing potholes but there is always more work to be done.

“We are always looking at effective ways of using our resources and innovative ways of working to ensure Hampshire’s roads are repaired and improved as efficiently as possible, making us more prepared for whatever the weather brings in the future.”

A staggering 57,000 potholes alone were fixed during last summer during an extensive programme of jet-patching and local small element patching.

This was followed by a programme of larger scale pothole repairs at junctions, roadside edges and joint repairs bringing the total up to 120,000 repairs.

Around 80,000 gullies were cleansed by last autumn ready for winter, and nearly 140 maintenance and improvement schemes completed as part of work undertaken in flood prone areas – along with checking, clearing and repairing drains.

The council’s highways maintenance contractor Amey drafted in extra resources and machinery for the huge job.

The firm’s account director David Ogden said: “We have worked closely with our employees and supply chain over the past year to trial new techniques and ways of working to maximise the number of potholes repaired.

“This has included deploying additional resources, introducing new products and using technology to deliver the council’s extensive road repair programme more efficiently.

“Due to the success of the trials, some of these techniques will continue to be used in the future.”

Pot holes form when water collects underneath the road surface, for example, in the soil, and then weakens the carriageway, so when traffic passes over it, it damages it.

It can also be made worse in freezing conditions, when the water expands and exerts even more pressure on the asphalt.