KCC continues work on £7.5 million pothole blitz

There’s a whole lot of holes being filled on the county’s roads as Kent County Council continues its £7.5 million pothole blitz.

Since the start of 2018, over 20,000 potholes have been filled in the pothole blitz.

Since March 1, KCC has filled in 11,279 potholes and carried out 16,036sqm of resurfacing where multiple potholes were found.

The issue remains the number one priority for Highways and dedicated teams are assigned their own district to focus the work.

Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste Mike Whiting

KCC cabinet member for highways Mike Whiting said: “This year saw some freezing cold temperatures which has significantly contributed to the number of potholes on our roads.

“Water gets into the road surface and when it freezes it expands causing cracks and subsequently potholes.

“Once temperatures warmed up, KCC immediately began work to repair our network. We ensured the main routes in Kent were fixed first alongside emergency repairs and in April began a dedicated pothole blitz tackling our entire network.”

“We have teams working in each district whose job it is to respond to reports we receive about specific potholes as well as fill those they find on our road network whilst out.”

KCC has contracted the work out to local companies in the districts to ensure quicker response times to reports of problems.

The companies are O’Rourke Contracting in Dartford and Gravesham; SCG Kent Ltd in Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells; Dukes Contractors Ltd in Tonbridge and Malling and Maidstone; Amey LG in Swale and Canterbury; Steadline Ltd in Ashford and Folkestone and Hythe; and A R Cook Contracting in Thanet and Dover.

Mr Whiting added: “People often assume these are quick and temporary fixes – and in emergency situations they will be to ensure the road is safe – but I can assure you these are revisited for a permanent fix.

“All this work isn’t to suggest we don’t need people’s help in reporting potholes. We can’t be everywhere all the time and so I’d encourage people to go online and report potholes so we can arrange for them to be filled.”

Highways England, which has responsibility for motorways and major A routes in the county, is also fixing its potholes.

KCC, which has drawn part of the funding from reserves, will be reviewing progress in June and will find more money if it is needed.

Additional funding has also been invested into drainage works across the county.

Broken down by district, KCC has filled, since March 1:

And patching, in square metres, which includes multiple potholes:

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