All potholes over 40mm deep will be fixed within 24 working hours as the Royal Borough’s 24 hour pothole pledge launches.
From September 2nd 2019, the Royal Borough will have some of quickest response times for fixing potholes in Berkshire and beyond, with all reported potholes over 40mm deep fixed within 24 working hours regardless of category. This change will also mean our roads are safer by ensuring that potholes on roads regularly used by more vulnerable road users such as cyclists are fixed quicker than ever before.
The new scheme forms part of a series of commitments to improve highways across the Royal Borough and will see all reported potholes over 40mm deep on roads and over 25mm deep on footways fixed within 24 hours regardless of which type of road or path they are located on. Previously, only potholes over 40mm deep on high speed or strategic routes or potholes over 25mm in town centre locations had to be fixed within 24 hours.
Cllr Andrew Johnson, lead member for infrastructure, transport policy and housing, said:
“We promised our residents that we would do everything we could to improve highways across our borough and we have worked hard to introduce this flagship policy less than six months into the new municipal year.
“This policy will mean that our residents will benefit from some of the quickest response times to potholes in Berkshire and beyond, and forms part of our commitment to invest over £50 million into our highways and pavements over the next four years.
“This change will also mean our roads network is safer for vulnerable road users and help support our commitment to support sustainable transport and reduce carbon emissions.”
Residents are being encouraged to report potholes online via the Royal Borough’s website as it’s the quickest and simplest way to report potholes.
Cllr Johnson continued: “Nearly 87% of potholes reported last year were reported to us online as it’s easiest and most convenient way to ensure we can get to work and fix a pothole quickly with the report going directly to the team responsible.”
The new pothole scheme will sit alongside the council’s ‘find and fix’ scheme which has proven successful and allowed the Royal Borough to accelerate works in high footfall areas without affecting our ability to respond to emergency or other routine works.
Daron Mizen, project manager for VolkerHighways, said: “We are delighted to be starting this pledge with the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead today. Our team is ready to rise to the challenge and we look forward to delivering an improved experience for road users throughout the borough.”
Under the new scheme potholes that are over 40mm on roads or 25mm on footpaths will be repaired with 24 working hours. This means potholes that meet this criteriathat are reported after 5pm on a Friday, will be repaired by 9am the following Tuesday.
In addition, where there is a clear need for a road to undergo a more time consuming repair, such as resurfacing, the pothole repair will be completed as part of that scheme of work to prevent duplication of work and reduce inconvenience to motorists.
All other potholes (those less than 40mm or 25mmdeep), that do not meet this criteria, will be repaired within the current timeframes depending on their size or location.