Potholes update

by Wiltshire Council

Following the increase in potholes seen over the past few months, we thought it would be helpful to provide you with more information about what we’re doing, how we fill potholes and what happens when a resident reports a pothole.

We will also be hosting a potholes webinar in the coming weeks, so that residents can find out more about how we repair road defects, followed by a Q&A session –we’ll have more information on this soon.

The increase in the number of potholes is a national issue, and not just one that affects Wiltshire. It has been caused by hot and dry summer of 2022, combined with the very wet and then cold weather experienced this past winter, which has created the ideal conditions for potholes to form.

Regular pothole update
We know that many people are passionate about potholes, and so we are going to give regular updates on the number of potholes we have repaired. This will be published in forthcoming members’ and residents’ newsletters.

Last week, from 15-21 May, we filled a total of 633 potholes and had 513 reported to us.

When we receive a pothole report, it is assessed by an engineer, and given a priority based on our defect criteria, as set out in our Highways Safety Inspection Manual.

Not all reported potholes meet our defect criteria, and so not all reported potholes are repaired. Some reported potholes will be repaired at a later date, but not immediately as they are of lower priority. We aim to fix Priority 1 potholes by the end of the next day, while Priority 2 will be fixed within 14 days, Priority 3 in 28 days, Priority 4 in 60 days, and Priority 5 are referred to a manager for further consideration.

Highways maintenance schedules and resurfacing

In March, we were awarded £22,924,000 from the Government’s Highways Maintenance Fund for 2023/24 to pay for a range of highways maintenance and improvement programmes, including resurfacing, new road markings, replacing traffic signs and signals, and filling potholes.

We also received an additional £3,684,800 from the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Pothole Fund, which we will use to target pothole hotspots around the county. To do this, we are creating heat maps of the areas with the worst pothole problems and using this data to identify the roads and local pothole hotspots in most need.

Our highways maintenance programme schedule for all 18 community areas sets out our plans for resurfacing, surface dressing and other essential highways asset management. This is currently going through the Cabinet Member decision process and will be finalised in the coming weeks.

While we work to fix problems as they occur on the highways network, resurfacing of key routes is set to a programme over several years, so we can help to prevent progressive deterioration, improve carriageway conditions and help to keep road users safe in all community areas.

It is important we use a combination of methods to maintain Wiltshire’s highway network – this includes:

1. Reactive maintenance: this approach involves responding to issues as they arise, such as repairing potholes or replacing damaged signs. Most reactive repairs are identified on our scheduled inspections, but we also receive public reports via the MyWilts app. When assessing all defects, we apply intervention levels as laid out in our Highways Safety Inspection Manual, prioritising the response based on specific safety criteria.
2. Planned maintenance: this involves scheduling regular maintenance tasks to prevent new issues from arising or existing issues getting worse. For example, regular road resurfacing or bridge inspections to identify and address issues before they become more serious.
3. Asset management: this is a long-term view of highways maintenance, and involves evaluating the condition of roads and infrastructure, and prioritising maintenance tasks based on factors such as condition, safety, cost, and rate of deterioration.

To find out more, please see Highways Asset Management – Wiltshire Council

Reporting potholes

You are encouraged to report potholes using MyWilts.

When we receive a pothole report, an officer will inspect the issue and will apply the criteria set out in our Highways Safety Inspection Manual. Depending on the type of pothole, the officer will allocate a priority from 1 to 5. Priority 1 means the defect will be repaired or warning signing will be implemented by 23:59 the next day; priority 5 means the issue is referred to an engineer for further consideration.

Download an infographic that explains what happens when we receive a pothole report.

New technologies and hot and cold fill

We’ve had lots of requests to try technologies such as the JCB Pothole Pro, a large machine that cuts, fills and cleans each pothole with one machine. We have looked into using machinery such as this, but unfortunately it isn’t a viable option for a rural county such as Wiltshire, partly because the large nature of the machine cannot pass through narrow lanes or under the county’s overhead cables.

However, we are always seeking to use the best techniques that are available and appropriate for use in Wiltshire, and we are using innovative techniques where they are proven to be both viable and sustainable.

When dealing with potholes the repair method we employ is influenced by a number of factors and can vary from an interim reinstatement using ‘cold lay’ materials to a permanent ‘hot’ repair, using a process where the existing surface is cut out to provide a regular rectangular patch and filled using hot material.

The main reasons for this are to ensure the efficient use of plant and equipment, as the hot repair method is more labour intensive and takes longer to carry out and it is more efficient to group repairs within a geographic area. The need to take fast action to keep the highways safe before a hot repair can be scheduled means that interim cold reinstatements are a necessity.

How we fill potholes

Using the ‘hot’ method detailed above, once a pothole has been identified for repair, our teams cut a square hole around the pothole, around 40mm deep. They then brush out any debris and water before adding a bonding coat to the hole, as this enables the filling material to hold fast. The hole is then filled with material to fix the pothole and levelled out, before being flatted down –either by hand with a hand compactor, or by using a roller. The final step sees the teams tidy up the job before moving on to the next pothole report and repeating the process.

Download an infographic that explains how we fill potholes.

We hope this helps to explain some of the issues around potholes. To find out more about roads and potholes, please see: www.wiltshire.gov.uk/highways-roads-care-cycle-lanes

This Wiltshire Council report was originally posted as a WC Members Update and shared by Cllr Nick Botterill.