Crewe News

‘Pothole-busters’ in action on Cheshire East roads

Cheshire East Council’s hi-tech ‘pothole-busting’ machines have been in action tackling the damage to roads done by recent ice and snow.

Two Asphalt Re-lay machines were on the streets of Wilmslow, impressing local councillors by fixing cracks and holes with joint-free repairs that combat the ravages of winter more effectively.

Cheshire East Council says the recent severe weather conditions have left roads exposed to ‘freeze-thaw’ damage.

This happens when water seeps into cracks in the road and is frozen. It then expands, causing the road surface to break up and cause potholes to form.

Cheshire East Council and its contractor BAM Nuttall, along with Crewe-based local award-winning partners Asphalt Re-lay, now use new technologies as one of their array of tools to repair potholes. An infra-red heat source, with additional materials is added to the pothole and compacted to provide a joint-free permanent patch.

Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, who was on hand to see the Re-lay pothole-busters in action in Wilmslow, said: “The council is working hard to keep drivers safer by fixing the holes as quickly as possible.

“This hi-tech Re-lay equipment helps us do this effectively, quickly and efficiently.”

Cheshire East Council’s area highway manager John McGowan said: “We have up to four of these Re-lay machines in action at any one time as part of our resources to tackle potholes and other road damage and they are going to be kept in action pretty solidly for the next few months. This technology is one of our tools for repairing the ravages of the winter weather.

“This severe weather period has inevitably had an effect on the road surface and we have seen an increase in the number and size of potholes from what we would expect over a normal winter period.

“We continue to encourage people to report potholes and other damage caused by the weather so that we can give our urgent attention to them. In the meantime, we would urge people to drive carefully on stretches of road where they know potholes have developed until we can fix them.”

Residents are asked to report to the authority any defects on local roads, pavements or footways, so they can be repaired as soon as possible.

Since January, there has been a 100 per cent increase in pothole reports for the same period last year.

The authority deals with over 20,000 highway defects every year.

Local residents can report potholes to Cheshire East Council on 0300 123 5500 or online by going to cheshireeast.gov.uk