Snow and ice cause 5,000 potholes on Hertfordshire’s roads

MORE than 3,000 potholes have been fixed since Hertfordshire’s roads crumbled in last month’s wintry weather.

And a further 2,000 have been identified as needing attention as part of the county council’s emergency repairs programme.

Cllr Stuart Pile, executive member for highways and transport, said: “The coldest weather conditions for nearly 30 years have taken a major toll on Hertfordshire’s roads, pavements and cycleways.

“We’re identifying around 300 potholes a day.

“Currently, we have 36 repair gangs, a number of surfacing contractors and four jet patching machines engaged in repairing our roads.”

Emergency repairs are being prioritised on roads that have the highest volume of traffic, or where vehicles travel at faster speeds, Cllr Pile said.

Permanent repairs on main roads were being co-ordinated into larger programmes of repair work, while on residential streets and rural lanes, patching work was taking up to two weeks to schedule and carry out.

Cllr Pile said it was too early to put a figure on the final repair bill.

But after similar snowfall last February, the cost of a six-week programme to fix more than 15,000 potholes was �1.1m.

And the accelerated deterioration of the highway was calculated to be the equivalent of a full year in normal conditions, and estimated at �16m.

Cllr Pile added: “Badly damaged roads are a national issue, and it is going to cost tens of millions to repair the country’s roads.

“This is going to be a costly and lengthy process and we ask for residents’ patience while we tackle this immense task, as well as reminding all road users to take care on damaged roads.”