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Fixing potholes will cost councils millions
Potholes in Stowe Road, Langtoft
Mercury readers have highlighted the sorry state of the roads across the area as councils look to spend millions of pounds on road repairs.
Despite funding cuts, there is money available to repair potholes and badly worn surfaces on roads in Stamford, Bourne, the Deepings, and Rutland.
Lincolnshire County Council, Rutland County Council, Northamptonshire County Council and Peterborough City Council have all been given a cash boost for road repairs by the Government, which pledged an extra £215m in the autumn statement to be spent over the next two years.
The council’s have pledged to consider areas reported by Mercury readers for repair.
Lincolnshire County Council was given £6.451m to spend on repairs.
Executive councillor for highways and transport William Webb (Con) said: “This welcome news increased our road maintenance budget to £51m over the next two years.
“This budget helps us to repair potholes, which we prioritise by repairing the ones which aim to protect the greatest number of people first.
“The extra funding will make a noticeable difference in repairing the county’s roads, and part of it will be used to permanently repair the worst potholes.”
Coun Webb said the council relies on people to tell them where potholes are, which highways officers then go out to assess before deciding the best course of action.
Many potholes are fixed temporarily, either because the weather is bad which means the repair work can’t be carried out effectively or because the road needs to be closed for the work.
The council aims to fix the worst affected potholes, which are at least 40mm in depth and 500mm across, within 24 hours.
Coun Webb said: “Like other councils nationwide, we are facing a backlog and cold or damp weather conditions can mean that new potholes are forming all the time.”
If you a spot a pothole on Lincolnshire’s roads call 01522 782070 or visit at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk.
Rutland County Council has been awarded £400,000 over the next two years.
Portfolio holder for highways Martyn Pocock (Con) said the weather in 2012, the second wettest year on record, hadn’t helped.
He said: “Roads in Rutland seem to have coped relatively well with the heavy rainfall, but our regular inspections will no doubt reveal some areas that need repair, particularly in places where there has been standing water.”
To report a pothole in Rutland call 01572 722577 or visit www.rutland.gov.uk.
Northamptonshire County Council, which is responsible for roads in places like Easton-on-the-Hill and Collyweston, was awarded £3.772m.
A spokesman said the council had focused on “more pro-active preventative resurfacing work and semi-permanent repairs on highways defects”.
She said: “This means those potholes which are not an immediate hazard are scheduled for more permanent repair work which is carried out over a longer term. However, if a pothole is considered to be dangerous it will be filled urgently.”
To report a repair contact the council’s Streetdoctor service by visiting www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/streetdoctor.
And Peterborough City Council, which covers villages like Bainton and Barnack, has £835,000 over the next two years.
The council usually has two small maintenance and response teams to deal with repairs quickly but has added a third until the end of March to manage the expected increase in pothole repairs.
To report a pothole call Peterborough Direct on 01733 747474 or visit www.peterborough.gov.uk.
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Weather for Stamford
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 13 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
