Member Article

Pothole bills are a ticking time bomb

The multi-million pound repair bill for the region’s roads is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode on the North East economy, according to the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) North East.

The cost of repairing pothole-riddled roads across the region is reported as being in the hundreds of millions of pounds. However, had potholes been more effectively repaired, rather than patched-up, many of the current problems could have been avoided, according to the ICE.

Penny Marshall, Interim Director of ICE North East said: “It’s a case of quick fixes leading to greater problems down the line. Many of the potholes across the North East have simply been patched up in recent years and this has led to much greater problems now.

“When a pothole is patched up, a joint is created and if this is not properly sealed water can get into the gap. When the temperature drops again, that water freezes and expands, which forces the patchwork to break and re-opens the pothole. This can create a larger hole than the original pothole that was repaired

“This has been seen over recent years, with the problem getting bigger and leading to the current estimates that local authorities face a collective bill of hundreds of millions of pounds.”

Penny added: “This is now a massive job, which could not have come at a worse time as local authorities are being forced to reduce their budgets. However, as drivers are increasingly becoming aware of their right to make claims against those in charge of the road network, when their vehicles are damaged, the pressure continues to grow.

“As much as the disruption might have been unpleasant, these problems could have been much less significant if there had been more investment two or three years ago.”

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This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Penny Marshall .