Hertfordshire County Council is using a new type of asphalt product made from recycled tyres to repair potholes in a quicker and cleaner way.
Roadmender asphalt contains material from tyres that would otherwise have been incinerated and allows road repair crews to repair potholes four times faster, with less dust and noise.
Because the process used with this new material doesn’t require drilling or cutting of the existing road surface, highways teams will be able to repair potholes using 80% less material as well as consuming 80% less energy, with fewer vehicles travelling to and from site.
Roadmender asphalt is being used following the allocation of £3.9m from the Government’s Pothole Fund, which will fund up to 20,000 additional pothole repairs across the county. To the end of July, the funding had led to over 2,500 potholes being filled at 679 locations. Work is being phased, so will be taking place at different times across the county this year.
Cllr Phil Bibby, Executive Member for Highways and Transport at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “We know that the condition of our roads really matters to our residents, and it matters to us too. Our roads are in a better condition than the national average, but we absolutely know that there’s more that needs to be done.
“This quicker, cleaner and greener method of repairing potholes will help us do more to keep Hertfordshire’s roads in a good condition, as well as moving us closer to our goal of making our operations carbon neutral by 2030.”
The county council’s highways team are continually looking at modern and innovative ways to improve current processes and will shortly be trialling the new JCB Pothole Pro.
As the council moves towards making its operations carbon neutral by 2030, the highways team are also working on how they can use all electric vehicles, plant and tools across their works projects.
To let the county council know about a problem on a road, pavement or footpath go to www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/highwayfaults
