Extra £1m to be spent on repairing potholes on Nottinghamshire’s roads

HIGHWAYS bosses are to spend an extra £1m on repairing thousands of potholes across Nottinghamshire, it has been revealed this week.

Nottinghamshire County Council spent £2.8m last year on repairss and during this financial year will use the extra cash to fix at least 5,000 more potholes.

The council will be attacking the problem with a plan that includes better fixing of potholes in the first place; increased road surfacing; and doing more to preserve the condition of existing road surfaces.

Said Andy Warrington, the county council’s service director for highways: “We are working hard to keep our roads in a good state of repair and are continuing to improve the quality of Nottinghamshire’s roads.

“During the last financial year we spent £36.8m on various aspects of highway maintenance – including road surface repairs – and this year that will rise to £40.1m.”

The council currently aims to fix within three or four days potholes which are more than two inches deep.

Now bosses want to move towards putting more repairs into a planned programme of fixing, which could take up to three or four weeks - but will be longer lasting.

In addition, the council is increasing the amount of new surfacing that is going to be laid on the county’s roads.

This will be paid for through its capital programme, efficiency savings from a new highways contract with Lafarge Tarmac, and additional capital funding of £2m for 2013/14 from Government.

The third prong of attack will see the council do more to preserve the condition of existing roads through surface dressing, which effectively ‘waterproofs’ a road surface.

Meanwhile, the council is encouraging folk to report potholes via its customer service centre and website.

To report a pothole go to www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk or contact0300 500 80 80.