How can we solve a decade of pothole problems in a fraction of the time?

UK digger manufacturer JCB has called for urgent action to reduce the backlog of pothole repairs after a new report has revealed the problem could take almost a decade to fix across England and Wales.

This year’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, published by the Asphalt Industry Alliance, has shown that it would take Local Authorities across England and Wales nine years to clear the backlog of road repairs currently needed, at a cost of £12.64bn.

But JCB says this could be dealt with in a fraction of the time and cost thanks to its innovative PotholePro.

Launched last year, JCB’s PotholePro can repair a pothole in less than eight minutes – four times quicker than standard methods and at half the cost of current solutions. 

Local Authorities across the UK have already started using the groundbreaking machines in a bid to reduce pothole repair times and clear their backlogs sooner.

Coventry City Council invested in a PotholePro last month following a successful trial of the rapid road repairer. The authority was so impressed with the JCB PotholePro, it bought its very own machine to help maintain more than 550 miles of road in the city.

Another council using the JCB PotholePro is Stoke-on-Trent. In a recent ‘men versus machine’ head-to-head, the JCB Pothole Pro took 13 minutes and 9 seconds to cut, crop and clean a 12m² area ready for reinstatement. The same sized area took the hand laying gang 1 hours 19 minutes and 4 seconds to prepare – making the Pothole Pro an impressive six times quicker.

The PotholePro’s development has been personally led by JCB Chairman Lord Bamford.

JCB Pothole Pro specialist Ben Rawding said: “The latest ALARM report demonstrates the huge challenge that authorities face with the quality of their road networks. We should face up to the significant ‘nine year catch up’ stated, and recognise that this has been caused by the lack of mechanisation within the repair process.

“Many local authorities across the UK are still using breakers and floor saws to repair roads – a Victorian method that is antiquated, costly and inefficient.

“With an industry challenge of this magnitude, authorities must turn to machinery such as the JCB PotholePro, focussing on permanent rather than temporary repairs.

“I urge all authorities and contractors to avoid putting a plaster over the issue with a high proportion of temporary repairs. With a JCB PotholePro, you can avoid revisiting reoffending defects – and instead increase your efficiency and in some cases, half your cost-per-pothole.”

The PotholePro allows the contractor or local authority to cut the defect, crop the edges and clean the hole with one machine – mechanising jobs traditionally done by pothole gangs and delivering up to a 50 per cent cut in daily costs.