More than 3,000 potholes reported to Wolverhampton Council
There were more than 3,000 reports of potholes lodged with Wolverhampton City Council last year, according to new figures.
Roads boss, Councillor John Reynolds said new technologies of reporting potholes online and via mobile applications had a major impact after a total of 3,117 holes were fixed throughout the calendar year. He said all of those reported were repaired by the end of the next working day. All of the potholes were inspected and given either a permanent or interim fix.
Highways staff were busiest in March and October, when they dealt with 379 and 340 reports respectively.
Councillor Reynolds, the city council's cabinet member for city services, said: "Potholes are a major concern for motorists and our highways team works very hard to fix problems first time wherever possible.
"We've had five particularly challenging winters in a row now - three very cold ones and the two most recent being very wet winters – and these all have a major impact on our roads.
"Online reporting of potholes and the introduction of the Report It app have contributed to the 3,117 potholes reported to the council during 2014 that were successfully repaired.
"Repairing potholes properly at the first opportunity, rather than doing an interim repair and then going back later to fix it properly, is very important as it means the council only needs to do it once.
"This not only saves taxpayers' money, but also cuts the amount of time spent repairing Wolverhampton's roads which reduces disruption to motorists and keeps the people of Wolverhampton moving."
During 2014, the city council was awarded a cash windfall of £500,000 to fix thousands of potholes as part of a total £6.6 million potholes cashpot, shared with other Black Country and Staffordshire authorities.
Prime Minister David Cameron singled Wolverhampton out for praise as he wanted to rid towns and cities of the 'pain of potholes', pledging funding for authorities that have shown a commitment to filling them.
"Wolverhampton has shown it is one of the leading areas in the country in its determination to beat potholes and is receiving extra cash as a result," he said.
To report a pothole, visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk or download the Wolverhampton Report It app.
