An innovative new machine is improving the way potholes and roads are being repaired in Nottinghamshire as part of a £1.75m investment in new highways equipment by Nottinghamshire County Council. The Roadmaster has been out on the County’s roads this summer and has already made a big impact, allowing Via East Midlands, who manages Nottinghamshire’s highways network on behalf of the county council, to make high quality repairs and ensure that less potholes develop on Nottinghamshire’s roads.
A successful trial of the machinery has been taking place and the county council has now agreed to purchase a brand-new Roadmaster to be delivered ahead of the spring.
The Roadmaster is an all-in-one spray injection chip patching system. It treats surface defects effectively, sealing the target area, filling cracking and removing potholes whilst regulating the surface. It produces a better finish and it reduces the likelihood of road repairs failing prematurely.
Councillor John Cottee, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Communities and Place Committee chairman at Nottinghamshire County Council said: “We’ve been delighted with the positive impact that the new equipment has had on our repairs so far, providing us with another tool to repair and prevent road surface deterioration in the County and significantly improving productivity.
“Road repairs and resurfacing is one of our top priorities and this £1.75m is a long-term investment to save more money further down the line whilst improving the quality of road repairs, increasing productivity and extending the life expectancy of our roads and is another example of our continuing investment in the network.
“The new Roadmaster we have on order is due to be with us by the spring. It has a higher specification than the machine we’re currently using, including an integrated roller to provide an even better finish.” The Roadmaster allows relatively large areas of carriageway to be treated quickly meaning that teams can pull in more lower priority repairs in the process, slowing down the rate at which our roads deteriorate and reducing the need for future re-visits to the same locations.
In addition, the council are introducing mechanised patching, where new and existing equipment will be used together to make patching of larger areas of road, where the road surface has suffered significant deterioration, economically viable and also carry out deeper structural repairs. This will improve the quality of ride for road users as well as the appearance.
The use of both types of equipment across Nottinghamshire will be prioritised and depend on factors such as the type of road and nature of the repair needed, with existing methods of repair continuing across the network.
The county council will continue with its existing approaches to fixing potholes, including find and fix repairs using either Viafix or patching, ensuring the highway remains safe for road users.
“We repaired more than 115,000 potholes in 2018 following a harsh winter and almost 70,000 this year to date. Potholes are a major concern for residents and we’ve listened to this,” added Coun Cottee. “These methods provide us with two new tools in our armoury when it comes to tackling and preventing potholes in the county, further ensuring that we can make the right repair at the right time.” A £20m cash pot was set up by the county council in 2018 to invest in Nottinghamshire’s roads.