New way of tackling potholes set to be introduced
Telford & Wrekin Council is set to adopt a new risk-based method of fixing potholes in accordance with national guidelines.
It will mean that defects on busier roads, outside schools and on pedestrian crossings will be prioritised which will result in higher quality, more efficient repairs being carried out.
Currently there is no distinction between how a 40mm pothole on a busy road is treated to how a same size pothole on a quieter, lower speed road is treated.
This will now change because a national code of practice called the Well Managed Highway Infrastructure (WMHI) has been introduced.
Councillor Angela McClements, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Transport, said: “The council is investing £26m over the next three years on maintaining our roads, footpaths and other assets through the Pride In Our Community initiative.
“We were recently voted second out of 104 local authorities for overall public satisfaction with highways and transport in the National Highways and Transport Survey.
“This new code of practice encourages the principle of taking a risk management approach to maintaining local highways. It means that the response to managing highway defects or issues can be based on factors relevant to the local area.
“We are aware that this winter’s bad weather is likely to increase the amount of potholes across the borough so we would encourage people to report any that they see so we can schedule work to get them fixed.”
A report on the new Highways Inspection Policy will be discussed by the council’s cabinet on 15 March.
Information on potholes and how to report them can be found here: http://www.telford.gov.uk/info/20046/street_care_and_cleaning/454/potholes
More figures relating to Telford and Wrekin’s transport infrastructure:
•1007 km of roads
•1100km of footways
•232 bridges
•17,000 traffic signs
•33,000 road gullies
•73km of safety barriers
•One pothole costs £120 to repair
•Number of potholes have reduced from 7,012 in 2012/13 to 3397 in 2016/17
•Road conditions in Telford and Wrekin are better than regional and national averages
•Over the last five years, the council has paid out £739,000 in claims with a further £140,196 paid by insurers – meaning £879,196 in total.
•During that time, there have been 719 claims with 411 defended successfully
