Potholes aren’t sealed due to target constraints
Repairs to pothole must be done within a certain timescale
POTHOLES on the region’s A-class and B-class roads must be filled within three days of being reported in order to meet targets, said a road department boss this week.
And this is why they aren’t heat-sealed to prevent instant crumbling, added Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Colin Forbes on Monday when he met members of Cree Valley Community Council.
He said: “We have a hundred potholes reported to us daily and then just three days to fill them, or 10 days for C-class and U-class roads, so there’s no way we could fill and seal each of these and meet our targets.
“Instead we do a conventional patch, where we fill the holes and move on to the next one. I know it seems ridiculous - but if we have a three-day target and it’s raining for five days, if we don’t fill that hole until it dries up then we don’t meet the targets.
“We are aware that when the rain comes down, often the holes are then flooded and the filling washes out again. We’re using a substance which the manufacturers tell us can be used all year but in reality, it only works between April and October.
“So the council are now looking at a new way of doing it, and changing the targets to 10 days and 20 days, which would give us time to do it right.”
He added that there was a chemical substance which works with wet weather but it was trialled in Lockerbie and didn’t work. Mr Forbes said this was possible due to it having been developed down south where the temperature is generally a few dgrees higher.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Newton Stewart
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
Comments
There are 2 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Scorpio
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 01:19 PMDo it wrong to meet the targets, do it right peoples heads roll. Tell me, when the targets are met who gets the bonus?
Scorpio
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 01:17 PMLOL!!! Take a leaf out of Ayreshire councils book! Their roads are fantastic!
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.