Three new Jetpatcher machines have been brought in by Derbyshire County Council as it steps up its efforts to fix the county's potholes.
The move comes after the constant freezing and thawing then rainfall at the beginning of the year resulted in a significant rise in the number of potholes and carriageway deterioration.
Between then and 4 March, 22,774 potholes have been fixed, a weekly average of 3,080 over the past five weeks.
Extra roadworker gangs have been mobilised, and they have been and will continue to work longer hours including at weekends, to tackle potholes reported on the county’s roads.
The Jetpatchers, mainly being used on rural roads, use a high velocity air stream to clear existing holes of any debris and water as well as laying and compacting new Tarmac.
DCC Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal, said: “We always see a large number of potholes at this time of year as the weather takes a toll on the roads.
“The huge amount of potholes that the highways service has fixed so far this year is great news for all who use the county’s roads.
“We’ve put extra resources in and moved roadworkers from planned work to fixing potholes and have asked them to work longer hours.
“We’ve also taken on three Jetpatcher machines, which are really helping on our more rural roads.
“I’d ask our residents to bear with us as we carry out the repairs and apologise for any delays to road users while our gangs are out and about carrying out this vital work.”
The council normally has 18 pothole fixing gangs but since January the aim has been to increase the number of gangs to 30 including the three Jetpatcher machines. Extra gangs have been created by moving roadworkers from other jobs.
The current snow is expected to create further potholes. The weather will also cause delays to fixing potholes in the short term as many roadworkers are gritter drivers.
Potholes and other road defects can be reported on the council’s website at derbyshire.gov.uk/reportit
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