Pothole problems in Gloucestershire may not be as bad as last year, says council (From Cotswold Journal)

Pothole problems in Gloucestershire may not be as bad as last year, says council

8:30am Monday 17th January 2011 in News

AN INSPECTION of Gloucestershire roads has shown that damage caused by the recent spell of freezing snowy weather may not be as bad as last year.

Gloucestershire County Council had to repair around 90,000 potholes in 2010 alone – more than the previous three years combined.

But although the bout of snow and freezing temperatures during December and early this month has damaged the road surface, the council says that initial reports, following an inspection last week, suggest the situation is not as bad this year.

Councillor Stan Waddington, cabinet member for environment, went out with one of the inspection teams last Thursday to see for himself how the county’s 3,500 miles of roads have fared.

Initial reports show that while there is damage on the network, the scale of repairs is not as bad as last year.

Coun Waddington said: “It’s no secret that snow and ice cause the roads to crack, which leads to potholes forming so I was keen to see for myself how this latest bad weather had affected us.

“We know there are still some problem areas and we’re working hard to address that – but in actual fact, at first glance, the situation seems better this time round.

“We repaired an unprecedented amount of potholes last year and we carried out a lot of work to seal the roads against bad weather and this has helped prepare the roads for this winter.

“Within the next couple of weeks, the full inspection should be complete and we’ll have a clear picture of the task facing us in 2011.

“Whatever we find, please be assured that we are taking action and that we will do all we can to repair Gloucestershire’s roads.

“However, as we all know, money is tight so we will continue to prioritise what we do.”

The inspection team has started checking the main road network, before moving onto major towns, then to urban and rural areas.

As problems are found, they will be reported and the most severely damaged will be repaired first.

Anyone who spots a pothole can report it to Gloucestershire Highways on 08000 514514 or online at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/pothole.