£2.35 Million to tackle pot holes

West Sussex County Council is to pump £2.35 million into tackling potholes caused by the recent severe weather conditions.

The money will be used to fund more pothole patrols, which have already been seeking out and fixing potholes since the beginning of December.

As the snow now starts to thaw in some areas, the patrols are starting to assess the most recent damage.

Early estimates suggest the cost of repairing this year’s winter damage will be considerable.

The County Council is advising motorists to drive with extreme caution whilst the job of repair gets underway.

Derek Whittington, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, said: “We know that following the thaw there will be a considerable amount of damage which needs repairing. Non-urgent repairs have already been suspended in order to free up staff to work on this damage, but this will inevitably take some time to address.

“Where possible permanent repairs will be made but it is expected that most repairs will be temporary. This is because a temporary repair is quicker and we are therefore able to keep up with the number of potholes appearing and keep the roads safe as best we can in the current conditions.

“More extensive damage will require either patching, localised reconstruction or resurfacing.”

The worst weather conditions in 30 years have left roads exposed to a condition known as ‘freeze-thaw’, which damages roads in wet and particularly freezing conditions. Water gathering in cracks in the roads expands when frozen causing the surface to break up, which results in deeper than usual potholes appearing.

County Council Leader Henry Smith says he will be writing to the Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis, to appeal for more funds towards the repairs once the full extent of the damage is known.

Derek added: “As well as our patrols we also rely on information from the public. People can report potholes using a phone line 01243 642105 or our website www.westsussex.gov.uk

“We are doing everything we can to identify problem areas, however, I would ask people to be patient and drive with care.”

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 17:00 and is filed under News Bulletins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.