Posted on Tuesday 22nd October 2024
Nearly 20,000 potholes have been filled since the county council invested a further £8 million to fix more roads across Staffordshire.
Staffordshire County Council announced the additional highways funding back in May, which has paid for extra highways teams to tackle potholes and drainage problems across the county.
The investment is already seeing a wealth of benefits for Staffordshire’s roads with nearly 20,000 potholes filled since May and almost 40% more gullies emptied between July and September this year, compared to the same time last year.
One of the road repair programmes being carried out by additional crews is Birches Park Road in Codsall.
Work to repair the potholes on this residential street began today (Monday 21 October) after a number of reports were made to the county council.
Assisting crews onsite was the thermal road repair machine and the JCB Pothole Pro – just two examples of innovative machinery the county council has invested in to ensure efficient and long-lasting repairs.
Mark Deaville, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for strategic highways, said:
“With last winter being one of the wettest and stormiest on record, this led to reports of potholes in Staffordshire tripling.
“We understand how frustrating this has been for our residents, which is why we invested an extra £8 million to fix more potholes and drainage issues. Birches Park Road is just one of many repairs completed sooner thanks to the additional crews funded by this investment."
The county council has also called on the Government to clarify the state of Network North funding for Staffordshire, which was announced a little over a year ago.
Mark said:
“With this new season already shaping up to be as wet as last year, the £186 million promised to Staffordshire through the Government's Network North plan over nine years would be a crucial boost, allowing us to address more potholes and road defects. We need clarity on this funding as soon as possible, so we can start planning our activities for next year.”