Extra £540k to fill more potholes across West Sussex

An extra £540,000 to fill potholes has been committed by West Sussex County Council - enough for at least 2,000 more high-quality larger-scale repairs.
Anatomy of a quality pothole repair: (from top left) a potholed patch on a West Sussex road; cutting a rectangular repair area; using a breaker to break out the patch; removing loose debris, with a shovel and bigger parts by hand; preparing the surface with a compactor plate; sealant being applied to bind the new and old surfaces; skilfully spreading the Tarmac slightly proud of the existing area, to achieve a smooth end result once compacted; using the compactor; the new surface.Anatomy of a quality pothole repair: (from top left) a potholed patch on a West Sussex road; cutting a rectangular repair area; using a breaker to break out the patch; removing loose debris, with a shovel and bigger parts by hand; preparing the surface with a compactor plate; sealant being applied to bind the new and old surfaces; skilfully spreading the Tarmac slightly proud of the existing area, to achieve a smooth end result once compacted; using the compactor; the new surface.
Anatomy of a quality pothole repair: (from top left) a potholed patch on a West Sussex road; cutting a rectangular repair area; using a breaker to break out the patch; removing loose debris, with a shovel and bigger parts by hand; preparing the surface with a compactor plate; sealant being applied to bind the new and old surfaces; skilfully spreading the Tarmac slightly proud of the existing area, to achieve a smooth end result once compacted; using the compactor; the new surface.

The council’s contractor has already completed 11,000 pothole repairs to date this year and this funding boost is in addition to extra resources announced earlier in May.

This was when two roving ‘seek and fill’ gangs and one dedicated to patching larger areas were added to the 15 teams already repairing potholes.

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Bob Lanzer, cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “The extra £540,000 is great news and further proof of just how seriously we take the pothole problem in West Sussex and that we have listened to residents and how important they feel this issue is.

“West Sussex Highways, working with our contractor, Balfour Beatty Living Places, are working hard to tackle the problem and the total number of pothole enquiries we are receiving is already declining as we make progress in repairing the winter weather damage.

“Unfortunately, roads are not permanent structures, so they will never be totally pothole-free, but we’re winning this post-winter battle and the funding boost will be a big help.”

Jeremy Hunt, cabinet member for finance and resources, added: “With this extra £540,000 we will prioritise high-quality repairs to try to ensure we do not have to return to the same problems. It will support the extra work we are already doing and is a great example of the council listening and acting upon what our residents want.

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“It is in addition to the extra resources, such as the roving ‘seek and fill’ teams, which are being funded from the £1,594,870 the county council received from the Department for Transport’s Pothole Action Fund for this financial year.”

The county council is responsible for maintaining around 2,500 miles of road. The A27, A23 and M23 are looked after by Highways England.

To report road or pavement defects visit the county council’s website or use the Love West Sussex app.