Drive to tackle potholes moves up a gear – so just ‘Tell Dave’!

 

Cheshire East Council has filled more than a staggering 21,643 potholes in our roads so far this year – and now the drive to tackle the problem is moving up a gear.

The warmer spring weather means repairs to the Borough’s 2,673km of highways can now really gather momentum – as it is far less effective to carry out repairs in wet and freezing conditions.

Cheshire East Highways’ team filled 21,643 potholes between January 1 and April 21 this year. We are on target to fill and repair more than 50,000 by the end of 2013.

And this is where you can play your part – you just need to ‘Tell Dave’.

So we can act swiftly to target the worst problems, members of the public are being encouraged to report all potholes to Councillor ‘Dave’ Topping – Cheshire East Council’s Cabinet member in charge of environment.

A Council report shows 400km of roads managed by CEC are in need of repair.

The authority is investing £25m in targeted road repairs and resurfacing works over two years. The aim is to prioritise the defects and roads that are in the worst condition and end the ‘cycle of decline’ in the road network.

Councillor Topping said: “We have been working really hard to repair the crumbling fabric of our roads – but there is still much to do. That is why we want people to report potholes to the council, so we can target the worst problems more effectively and quickly.

“Successive bad winters and flooding last summer have left our roads in a poor condition and we know what we have to do to keep the network in a safe condition and clear the backlog of repairs.

“A measure of our commitment is that we are investing £25m over two years to repair local roads – and this will have a major impact on improving road conditions for local people and drivers.”

Of the 400km of roads classed as defective in Cheshire East, 25 per cent are in Nantwich, 18 per cent are in Congleton, 18 per cent are in Macclesfield, 17 per cent are in Crewe, 13 per cent are in Knutsford, five per cent are in Poynton and four per cent are in Wilmslow.

You can report a pothole via the Council’s website at: www.cheshireeasthighways.org/ReportIt

Alternatively, ring the highways team on 0300 123 5020.