Councils in pledge to repair potholes (From Southend Standard)

Councils in pledge to repair potholes

11:50am Monday 3rd January 2011 in Echo News By Jasmin McDermott

Terry Gandy – calling for potholes to be repaired

POTHOLES are becoming the size of craters as the big thaw follows the big freeze in south Essex.

Snow and water settles into small cracks in the road and expands when it freezes, causing holes to get bigger.

Southend and Essex county councils have now pledged to do all they can to fix the potholes swiftly to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians.

Southend Council’s traffic and highways manager, Zulfiqar Ali, said his inspectors are checking the borough’s road network for potholes to treat the worst ones as soon as possible.

He said: “Every road in the borough is inspected annually on foot by inspectors looking for road, kerb and pavement defects and essential repairs are undertaken as a priority where needed.

“We have a priority one team which deals with all highways defects identified as needing same day immediate action.

“If a pothole is deemed to need immediate action by an inspector it will be done there and then and arrangement are in place for our contractors to undertake needed works, even if that means working beyond normal hours.”

Last year an additional £300,000 was made available for the repair of potholes with an extra £113,000 of additional funding from the Government.

Mr Ali added: “We are being notified about potholes by the public, and our own elected members and officers.”

Meanwhile, a Billericay town councillor has criticised grit supplies in Billericay which he claims has exacerbated the problem of potholes.

Terry Gandy says more potholes will appear because roads and pavements were not gritted during the cold snap.

He said some salt bins had been removed from the town and one-tonne bags of salt had been put in certain spots, including fire stations, leaving many people living in side roads unable to get to the bags and grit their streets.

This he says will lead to more potholes because the lack of treatment on some footpaths leaves them open to extra damage.

Mr Gandy believes Essex County Council should have thought about different ways of keeping salt bins in local communities.

Mr Gandy said: “The council believed people were stealing or taking too much from the bins.

“But if the footpaths are not treated, then the problems of potholes will only get worse.”

An Essex County Council spokesman said: “Wintry conditions and gritting salt can take their toll on road surfaces; known as freeze-thaw this effect damages the roads in wet and particularly freezing conditions. It means that water in cracks in the road expands into ice causing the surface of the road to break up and potholes to form. Gritting salt, with its alkaline nature, has a further chemical effect which accelerates any damage.

“The council is continuing to work around the clock to prepare and grit the roads for the continued icy weather conditions with its fleet of 65 gritters and more than 100 staff on hand.”