Devon’s pothole repair trial to get underway soon

Devon County Council has announced today (4 September) that it will be embarking on a seven-week trial of changes to its pothole repair procedures.

At today’s Full Council meeting, councillors heard that a pilot will get underway from Monday 15 September in parts of Barnstaple as well as west Devon areas of Hatherleigh, Chagford and North Tawton.

These locations have been chosen based on data of pothole numbers, and highways teams will be filling all potholes, not just safety defects, when visiting sites in these areas through to the end of October.

When investigating potholes reported by the public, highway safety inspectors will be asked to record all other potholes on that road within 500 metres in each direction, or to the nearest highway junction. Repair teams will then repair those potholes within their traffic management set-up – although different teams may be required depending on the size and type of repair needed.

While not everything will be repaired, this trial will establish the budget implications of taking a more proactive approach to fixing potholes before they become safety defects, and it’s an opportunity to see if this new approach to pothole repairs leads to a reduction in pothole reports.

Councillor Dan Thomas, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “Improving Devon’s roads is a priority for the County Council. We said we’d make changes and we want to see if this provides longer term benefits for the condition of our roads. Trialling this new approach will test whether it is a more efficient way of working and better value for money to fix potholes before they become a safety defect.

“The frustrations you hear from people are that a workforce will go out and fill in one pothole but possibly don’t fill in others that you would consider road defects, because they don't have them on their list. While they're out on the ground it makes sense for them to be looking to fill as many road defects as possible to ensure they're not having to go back in short order. I don’t believe the current way of working is cost effective and the purpose of the trial is to prove that’s the case.

“We’re facing massive challenges because we don’t get enough money from central government for our roads to start with. We have a repair backlog of £390 million and every year we need £102 million a year from government just to keep our roads in their current condition, but we simply don’t get anywhere near that amount from government each year for the whole highways department, let alone just roads. Our highway maintenance budgets are limited and road repairs have to be prioritised, but this trial is exploring whether traditional maintenance policies can be adapted to drive further efficiencies and get even better value for money which would allow our budgets to go further.

“Devon has already adopted innovations to drive efficiencies – using new materials such as elastomac and equipment such as dragon patchers. This pothole repair trial is an opportunity to give our highways teams greater flexibility to repair what’s on site in the same visit rather than having to return to do more at a later date – something which has been highlighted consistently by residents.”

The effectiveness of the trial will hopefully be reflected in improved conditions of roads in the trial area over a longer period, requiring fewer return visits.