More than 5,000 – that’s how many road defects expert Swansea Council staff have fixed so far this year.
The specialist teams carry out inspections and then schedule repairs according to their priority on Swansea’s 1,100 km of roads. About 500 potholes and other road defects are typically attended to every month.
As well as a number of teams who are out every day throughout the year, the PATCH project (Priority Action for Community Highways) has also been spending an intensive week in communities across Swansea since mid-April.
Some of the communities to have benefitted from visits so far this year include Townhill, Bonymaen, Morriston and Gorseinon. In November and December, they’ll be heading to Killay, Dunvant, Bishopston, Oystermouth, West Cross, Newton and Mayals. By Christmas, the project will have visited all 32 Swansea electoral wards.
Cllr David Hopkins, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation, said: “We realise how important the condition of our roads is for our residents and visitors to the city, which is why we’re continuing to heavily invest in our road network.
“It’s inevitable at this time of year that our roads will get damaged – not just because of heavy volumes of traffic, but also because of the cold and wet weather.
“But despite the miserable winter conditions we’re now experiencing, our staff will continue to keep on top of road inspections and will log and carry out repairs according to their priority – but they can’t be everywhere at once. This is why I’d urge motorists to let us know if they see any road damage that needs fixing. If it’s an emergency, then the public can rest assured that a repair will take place within 24 hours.”
A recent report found Swansea’s roads are among the best maintained in Wales.
Figures released by the Welsh Government and Local Government Data Unit show the city’s roads are in the second best condition of all council areas across the country.
The report is produced every year to compare the performance of all 22 Welsh local authorities across a range of services.
Visit www.swansea.gov.uk/highwayproblems to report road damage or call 0800 132081.
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