City’s council fixes almost 4,000 potholes

ALMOST 4,000 potholes have been fixed in Cardiff in the past 10 months.

So far in this financial year the number of potholes fixed is already 700 higher than the number in the whole of the previous year.

The recent bad weather and heavy rain has left a large number of potholes in roads around the city.

And Cardiff council has confirmed that from March 31 last year until the present date the authority has fixed 3,814 potholes.

This has increased from 3,141 potholes which were fixed in the previous year.

One in three drivers in the UK report that their car, van or motorcycle has been damaged by potholes in the past two years, according to the AA.

This included damage to tyres and bodywork and has even led to crashes.

Councillors in the Whitchurch area said they had reported a number of potholes along two of the main roads in the area – Penlline Road and Park Road.

Some residents have reported that repairs to other roads are not working.

One resident said: “I have reported large potholes and they have been ‘repaired’ twice since Christmas, if you can call it that.

“They seem to just throw a bit of Tarmac in the hole and bash it down with a spade. Half the hole doesn’t even have any Tarmac in it. I am shocked and appalled they can call it repaired.”

But a spokesman for Cardiff council said: “In the UK there is a national backlog of road repairs in the region of £12bn.

“The council inspects the highway network in line with the Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management and in line with the requirements of the Highways Act 1980.

“The problem of potholes does increase in the winter months due to freezing temperatures.

“From March 31, 2017, until the present date the authority has fixed 3,814 potholes. This has increased from 3,141 potholes which were fixed in the previous year.

“The council carries out a variety of road works across the network including reconstruction, resurfacing, surface patching, and treatments as well as carrying out reactive repairs on safety grounds for defects that meet the criteria.

“The most expensive maintenance involves reconstructing a road so a proactive approach is taken by prioritising the delivery of preventative works so they do not deteriorate any further.

“Pothole repairs are carried out to address safety concerns which align to the criteria above. These repairs may be a short-term solution that can be rapidly installed until more extensive permanent patching or resurfacing solutions can take place. “

A spokesman for the Automobile Association said: “When your car’s damaged by a pothole it can be a real pain, leaving you spending time and money on repairs or chasing claims for damage.

“Unfortunately potholes can’t be prevented – they’re caused by changes in temperature and water in cracks of the road surface.

“Our survey found that only one in five of people report potholes. Reporting them can help them get fixed more quickly – if the council doesn’t know about it they won’t know it needs to be repaired.”