The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A new piece of kit which can fill up to 300 potholes in one day has been trialled in South Holland.
The Roadmaster Velocity Patcher is dubbed “the world’s most advanced potholing machine” has already repaired a number of roads in Sutton St James and has been in Spalding for the past three weeks.
Lincolnshire County Council is one of the first local authorities to use the machine, although it has been used by the Highways Agency and Heathrow airport.
A spokesman for the county council said: “We usually have to send out a crew of two men to fill a pothole and they can repair an average of 80 a day.
“The beauty of this machine is that it requires just a one man crew and can fill up to 300 potholes a day.
“It provides a permanent repair, not just a temporary patch.
“We did some testing last year on some of our worst roads and recently inspected them to see how the repairs had held up – they have really impressed us, still in place and performing well.”
The council is now looking at the possibility of expanding the programme countywide and possibly buying some of the machines.
The council announced last week that it intends to bid for a slice of a £168million Government “pothole fund”.
Although the figure of £400million has been cited as what was needed to bring the county’s road network completely up to scratch, it is hoped that any funding received would make a significant impact.
Last year it was revealed following a Freedom of Information request that the county paid out the most compensation for claims of pothole damage.
