Council Launches Pothole Campaign Following Harsh Winter
Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians are being encouraged to join hundreds of people in reporting potholes so they can be fixed by Swindon Borough Council. The month-long potholes campaign has been launched om the 18 June as the Council continues to repair the borough’s roads following the significant damage caused by the cold weather over the winter.
It has never been easier to report a pothole with residents able to let the Council know via an online pothole reporting tool at www.swindon.gov.uk/potholes.
The multiple cold snaps and snow from November to March caused large amounts of damage to road surfaces across the country with the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) Survey estimating over £9bn in repairs are required nationally.
The Council maintains more than 510 miles of roads across the borough and a team of six highway inspectors identify potholes and other problems with roads, pavements and cycle paths.
The Council has been working hard to repair Swindon’s roads with 8,004 potholes and patch repairs of footpaths, cycle paths and roads completed in the borough between 1 June 2017 and 31 May 2018. This was in response to only 774 reports of potholes from residents during the same time period.
Although main routes in the town are inspected regularly, the Council only has resources to check residential and rural roads and cycle paths once every six months. This means that many potholes in rural areas can go unseen unless they are reported.
Once a reported pothole is inspected, the Council prioritises the most urgent repairs to prevent damage to vehicles. If a hole in the road is deeper than 40mm, the Council aims to fix it within 24 hours of inspection.
As part of the campaign we have published new information on our website to help residents understand how Council manages potholes using the finite funds available: https://www.swindon.gov.uk/info/20040/road_safety_maintenance_and_repairs/339/report_a_pothole/2
Cllr Fionuala Foley, Cabinet Member for Highways and the Environment, said: “Our teams work tirelessly every day to repair Swindon’s extensive road network, but we need residents’ help in letting us know about potholes we may not be aware of.
“I can understand people’s frustration at the damage they see on our roads but I can assure we are trying our best to repair the winter damage which is why we are asking for help. Over the last year we have fixed ten times as many potholes as people have reported, with over 8,000 repairs made which shows the scale of the problem we are dealing with. We are also spending more than £1.6m in larger repairs across the borough this year and £405,000 of additional funding from the Government will be invested in large patch repairs to help keep Swindon moving.”