£2.1m fund to blitz Staffordshire's potholes

Around 7,000 extra potholes are to be repaired across Staffordshire as part of a £2.1 million package of investment in the county's roads, it has been revealed.

Staffordshire County Council announced today it is also drafting in two extra pothole-blitzing machines – in addition to the two already out improving road surfaces in the county.

The spring improvements follow a Government cash injection to tackle road defects following the wettest winter on record in parts of the country.

Staffordshire County Council was awarded £2,131,285 to be spent by the summer to carry out repairs and fix potholes on the county's road network.

Repaired

It means another 400 potholes a week will be repaired on top of the 300 currently worked on each week.

Simon Tagg, Cabinet Support Member for Transport and Connected County, said the one-off payment would help clear a backlog of identified defects, but wouldn't prevent further potholes.

He said: "An effective, well-maintained and safe road network in Staffordshire is key to bringing jobs and prosperity to the county and the extra money will certainly help us tackle more potholes over the coming weeks.

"As a county council we have already invested an additional £50 million of local money in improving our road network, but in a county as vast as Staffordshire maintaining and improving roads is an on-going challenge.

"Although this money will help clear the current backlog, potholes are a symptom of already weakened roads and further, long-term investment is what is really needed to deliver a long-term improvement to the condition of our roads."

The two extra machines use high velocity patching and can tackle stretches of defects and are particularly effective on more rural, less constructed roads.