A HIGHWAYS boss at Barnsley Council has urged motorists to ‘bear with it’ as they try to deal with a huge number of potholes caused by the bad weather.
Potholes are formed as the road surface deteriorates and water gets into the cracks and freezes.
This has been made worse by bad weather after Christmas, followed by the Beast from the East earlier this month.
Readers pointed out some of the worst affected areas which included Neville Avenue, Swanee Road and Farm Road in Kendray, Pogmoor Road and Racecommon Road in Barnsley, the roads around Goldthorpe Industrial Estate, Royston Lane, Cavendish Road and Higham Common Road, and Broomhead Road in Wombwell.
Ian Wilson, group manager for highways and engineering at the council, said the weather had caused a significant increase in potholes which were being dealt with on an emergency basis.
He said: “In the last two months we’ve had a significant difference in terms of the weather, the cold and snow, than in previous years. It’s been nothing like in 2009/10 but certainly in the last couple of years.
“That is why we’ve seen a significant increase in potholes. There are emergency potholes which we have to repair within 24 hours.
“In November there were 103, in December there were 144, in January there were 1,173 and last month there were 873.
“I’m predicting a similar number in March because we have only just got over the snow and there is more inclement weather predicted this weekend.”
He said there was around 2,000 potholes in total which also includes less urgent holes which are repaired in 28 days.
To be classed as a pothole, it needs to 40mm or deeper. The location of the hole is also assessed, and whether there is any danger to the public. For example, holes outside schools or the hospital would be classed as an emergency.
It is down to site inspectors to determine if the hole is an emergency.
“If it’s not an emergency, it will be repaired within 28 days. We don’t always take 28 days but particularly in this scenario we have got 1,000 potholes to do and we’ll do the rest in 28 days.
“We had bad weather just after Christmas, and then the more recent bad weather and we’ve not had time to recover. But in terms of dealing with it, we have increased our resources and have got teams working on weekends to try and catch up with the potholes and make the network safe. They have been doing that for a number of weeks.
“The only way we can do that is to prioritise it on what information we have got. We might send a team out in one particular area for a day which might release a team to concentrate in the 28-day potholes.
“What I would say to people is please bear with us. We’ve got a finite number of resources.
“Just take care on the roads, drive a little slower and try to miss the potholes. We will get on top of it and sort it out.”
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MOTORISTS have also pointed out an increase in the number of roadworks over the last couple of weeks.
But Ian Wilson, the council’s group manager for highways and engineering, said there were several reasons for this.
One is that some roads are ‘failing’ and need to be replaced which can take out a number of potholes in one go. Another is that companies such as Yorkshire Water, BT and the National Grid might need to carry out repair works or new installations, and another is that there are lots of new development in the area.
He said: “The road works are not always us as a council. One if the reasons is that we are coming out of the recession and there are lots of developments which need various improvements. Quite often it is statutory undertakers, such as BT, National Grid and Yorkshire Water who carry out repair works to their apparatus. They have a right to work in the highway.
“We also carry out works, as we have top maintain the highway. A lot of our work links back to potholes. We have got lots of potholes in tight clusters together and we’ll be trying to resurface elements of the road to take out clusters of potholes.
“That is what is happening on Doncaster Road in Darfield. The road is starting to fail and needs to be replaced.”
