Councils trial new pothole solution

Added on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

The Jetpatcher can fix a minor pothole in just five minutes.

A high majority of Scottish councils have bought or leased one. We've had a lot of enquiries in England. And a lot of councils in Wales are already using Jetpatchers.

A £140,000 machine could help councils across the UK to combat the menace of potholes on their road network, one firm has claimed.

With the recent cold weather reducing some road surfaces in crumbling wrecks, Jetpatcher UK claim that their machine can repair a typical pothole at a cost of around £60 in less than five minutes - a significant reduction on the current estimated £100m annual repair bill - not including compensation paid out to motorists whose vehicles have been damaged by a pothole.

The potholes, created when moisture in the road surfaces freezes and expands before melting again, have become a significant headache for motorists and local authorities this winter, with around 1.6m more potholes estimated to have appear on Britain’s road network and many local authorities reportedly paying out more in compensation for pothole related damage that they are spending on repairs themselves.

The system, already in use in Aberdeen and now being rolled out by a number of local authorities, uses a nozzle to blow any lose debris from a pothole before sealing it with a layer of asphalt. The hole is then filled with an aggregate and asphalt mixture, with more asphalt used to “top up” the fix to prevent the mixture sticking to vehicle tyres. Under the typical method of repair, the process would require a crew of up to five workmen, a lorry load of asphalt and arsenal of shovels, wheelbarrows and rollers, in addition to potential road closures.

Major potholes would still require the traditional method of repair but it is claimed that the Jetpatcher would significantly ease the burden on local authorities as they race to repair their road networks.

“A high majority of Scottish councils have bought or leased one. We’ve had a lot of enquiries in England. And a lot of councils in Wales are already using Jetpatchers,” says a spokesman for Jetpatcher UK.

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