With nearly 3,000 pothole repairs carried out in the last year and more than £90million committed over the next four years to maintain highways, Telford & Wrekin Council is showing its determination to continually improve the condition of Borough roads.

Council is deploying more crews to help and is exploring alternative methods to repair roads with the introduction of Roadmender Elastomac. The innovative, sustainable and cost-effective system will complement the Council’s existing methods, offering an additional solution that can transform the way certain defects on our highways and footways are repaired.

Elastomac is a rubber modified, permanent repair material that combines innovation with sustainability. While it will not be the right approach for every situation, using it alongside traditional methods enables the Council to select the most efficient and environmentally friendly solution for each type of road defect.

Recent freeze–thaw cycles – with temperatures dipping below zero and then rising sharply – have led to a seasonal spike in pothole formation. This is a normal winter process: water seeps into cracks, freezes, expands the road surface, then thaws leaving a void. Vehicles then break down the weakened surface, and prolonged periods of cold exacerbate the process. To mitigate the current period of sustained bad weather, the Council has put out extra crews to work on repairs.

Councillor Richard Overton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Highways, Housing and Enforcement, said: 

“The wet, freezing weather is creating serious issues on road conditions across the country. Although as a Council we’ve been named as one of the top eight for reducing potholes over the last four years (by motoring experts Blackcircles) and we’re also among the highest performing Councils in the region according to the National Highways and Transport survey, the only opinions that really matter to us are our residents and businesses.

(Picture: Telford & Wrekin Council)