Holey problem on our roads
THE number of potholes in County Durham has doubled in recent years with more than 11,000 reported, new data has revealed.
According to figures gathered by the RAC in a freedom of information request (FOI) to councils, Durham County Council saw potholes reports balloon between 2016 and 2017.
The data breakdown showed 3,567 reports were filed in 2016 before shooting up to 7,560 in 2017. Periods of cold and wet weather can make road surface problems worse, especially following bouts of severe weather such as last year’s ‘Beast from the East.’
Durham County Council’s head of technical services, John Reed, said severe winters “will always take their toll on the condition of roads”.
“The financial year 2017/2018 saw us experience some of the worst weather in living memory, resulting in an increase in the number of potholes on the highways we maintain,” he said. “We do inspect all adopted roads and footpaths in County Durham for potholes and other defects at intervals determined by usage with the results helping us plan repairs.
“We also ask people to report defects including potholes to us so we are aware of any which appear between inspections.”
He added: “Following the severe winter of 2017/2018, we are investing a further £700,000 in resurfacing of unclassified roads as part of our £7.5m contribution to capital maintenance. We have also recently been allocated £5.26m by the Department for Transport to help us tackle potholes and we will be spending this on the resurfacing of unclassified roads.”
According to the RAC data, around 1.7m potholes were reported across Britain between 2014-2017. Factoring in councils who failed to provide data, the insurance firm believe the figure could stretch to £2.4m over the same period. And in 2017 alone, more than half a million potholes were reported, an increase of 44% from 2015.
RAC head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes, added: “It’s shocking to see the number of reported potholes in Britain has risen by nearly 50% in two years. Our own analysis of breakdown data shows the damage suffered by motorists is a constant source of frustration and expense, but the scale of the problem is obviously far greater than the numbers show.”