Pothole blitz gets under way

Last week Kent County Council launched its latest ‘pothole blitz’ - the find and fix campaign launched each spring, and which I have often posted about. The new programme has some £10 million committed to it. As the KCC media release makes clear, it goes alongside other programmes such as major resurfacing works.

A longer term asset management plan is being prepared which will set the course for the coming years and will set out ways in which the highways programme (including not just roads but elements such as structures and drainage) can be put on the most sustainable footing. This remains one of my big preoccupations as Leader of the Council: to find the best way to support and develop a historically underfunded area (not just in Kent but across the country) which is nonetheless the most visible and universal service which the County Council provides.

More money for pothole campaign in the new financial year

As I reported last month, KCC committed £5.2 million to its Find and Fix campaign in 2017-18; nonetheless, January 2018 saw some 4,000 pothole notifications, the highest January level for four years.

And that was before the Beast from the East, and the second, shorter-lived bout of snow in mid-March. Mike Whiting, Cabinet Member for Highways, indicated that the costs to the road network of the severe weather could come to some £4 million. However, the County Council has been able to announce an extra £2 million in funding, bringing the total budget for potholes and drainage for this year to £8.1 million.

So far. The Find and Fix campaign gets under way in April, and the Council Leader, Paul Carter has added that, "Towards the middle of June we will then reflect on how the work is going, and I can assure you that, if more work is needed, we will find the additional budget required to fix the potholes."

The 2017-18 pothole blitz

With the end of the financial year approaching, the Find and Fix Programme (aka the 'pothole blitz') is also almost concluded.

This year saw some £5.2 million spent on the Find and Fix programme; £2.2 million from the Deaprtment for Transport's Captial Pothole Grant, and the remainder from KCC capital and revenue contributions. The whole budget has been committed and most of the works completed; a few await the completion of other works (for example, by utilities) in the relevant area.

All told, some 117,000 square metres have been repaired; the equivalent of 18 Wembley football pitches, or 18 kilometres of typical road. Overall, the quality of the work delivered by locally commissioned contractors (SCG in the case of Sevenoaks) has been good.

We await full clarity on what funding will be available for the new financial year. However, the pressures are on (which will not come as any surprise to anyone observing recent weather); January saw just under 4,000 pothole enquiries from the public, a multiple of the levels seen in recent years and comparable to the level seen at the start of 2014, which was a time of major flooding. So there will be plenty to be done once Spring is upon us.

Latest on the pothole blitz

As I have reported before, Kent County Council's Find and Fix programme (or 'pothole blitz') for tackling potholes across the County has been running since April. So far, KCC has spent £2.7 million, patching 66,800m2 and filling an equivalent of 133,600 individual potholes on a road network of over 5,000 miles.

However, the County Council is able to spend some £5.2 million in total and the programme is continuing - weather permitting - until Christmas. Much of the remaining work and expenditure is programmed in but it is still important if you are aware of a pothole to report it via the KCC website.

The Find and Fix programme is being delivered by six local firms, each covering two Districts (for Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells, it is SCG Kent Ltd), who have so far delivered good quality work for the County.

Pothole blitz gets under way

Kent County Council's spring 'Find and Fix' campaign - otherwise known as the pothole blitz - is under way.

The campaign will be in two phases. This month some £500K, set aside by the County Council and using a network of local contractors, will be spent on the campaign. A further £1.96m will be spent after mid-May; this is money allocated from national government to local authorities.

The campaign will focus on the minor roads that often get much less of the funding available than do the more major routes. Despite the 'pothole blitz' terminology, much of the work will be patching over a wider area than a single pothole - but it should all contribute to improvement of the roads.

Initial activity will pick up problems that are already known, but where holes are not at the 'intervention level' that triggers immediate action by Kent Highways. In addition, residents and Parish Councils can use Kent Highways' usual fault reporting system.

Latest on the pothole blitz

Kent Highways' annual pothole blitz, with a budget of £3 million, was launched in June. You can check progress, both across the County and by District, here.

The latest figures show:

- Across Kent, with 5,372 miles of road, £1.4m has been spent on completed works; the comparable figures for Sevenoaks District are 492 miles of road and £166,153 spent

- Across Kent, 1,079 single potholes have been fixed; for Sevenoaks, the figure is 292

- Across Kent, 39,115 square metres of multiple potholes and larger repairs have been undertaken; in Sevenoaks, 5,197 square metres (these latter figures are for potholes greater than a square metre in size and more than 200mm deep, or where there are multiple defects)

There has clearly been quite a lot of progress, though still scope for a lot more to be done, and Sevvenoaks seems to be somewhat ahead of its pro rata share, as was the case when I reported last. Kent Highways has written to Parish Councils to report on progress and to ask for feedback on where significant problems have not yet been tackled. In addition, any of us can report a pothole here.

Kent's pothole blitz getting under way

As previously reported, Kent Highways' pothole campaign was launched in June, with £3 million in funding (including £1.4 million of government grant that was announced relatively recently) behind it. The aim has been to mobilise quickly and efficiently using local contractors.

The contract has now been in effect for 4 weeks. More than £500,000 in expenditure has been programmed, in addition to more than £358,000 that has been spent on already completed works. Of the latter, almost £50,000 has been in Sevenoaks District, while its share of programmed works exceeds £100,000. As before, do report a pothole via the KCC website - or, of course, to your County Councillor.

Pothole blitz to be launched in June

KCC will launch its annual pothole blitz in mid-June, it was announced yesterday. Some £3 million in funding, which includes £1.4 million received recently from central government, will be deployed. The work will be done on a District by District basis, and work will also be carried out on lines and verges.

This acceleration of our normal work in tackling potholes comes a little later in the year than usual - typically it starts in the spring - reflecting the later than usual release of government funding. However, it should now gather pace quickly, and residents are encouraged to report potholes via the Highways section of the KCC website. This should ensure the most timely response.

Bower Lane potholes

I have to declare an interest on this one, since I am a fairly frequent user of Bower Lane, but the potholes in the road are a significant problem for local residents, and have been for a while. There are a number of concentrations of problems, especially towards the East Hill end of the road.

Speaking to Kent Highways officers today, I understand that works will be carried out to tackle the problem as part of the spring assault on potholes. It is likely to be a quite costly and demanding job, with some need for a road closure. This work will have to wait for better weather and the best timing for a closure, so in the interim we are likely to see some patching as a very short-term fix. Good news nonetheless.

Well Hill: filling in the potholes

Since I provided a number of updates on the abortive efforts to fill in the potholes in Well Hill, I am probably a bit behind myself in not having recorded the latest position.

The especially deep potholes in the part of Well Hill between the junctions with Firmingers Road and Parkgate Road were filled in some weeks ago. Potholes in the remaining parts of the road have been marked up by Kent Highways and the works are due to take place in the latter part of next week. This will require nothing more drastic than a diversion via Firmingers Road and so hopefully should go smoothly.

A bit more on potholes

Following on from my last post, it's worth reading this press release from KCC. This sets out the cost of fixing a pothole in Kent through 'Find and a Fix' at £37, compared with a national average of £53. The Department for Transport allocated its funds to local authorities based on this 'model' approach.

The press release also sets out the number of potholes fixed in each District of Kent since the winter - in Sevenoaks, it is  2,322. I don't have a precise figure for Darent Valley, but on this basis of these figures it must run into quite a few hundred.

Kent gains from government pothole fund

Kent County Council has been awarded £6.3m from the Department for Transport's pothole fund, which allocated £168m to local authorities across the country. Kent had the second highest allocation in the country and a higher share of the fund than its population would suggest. In a fund designed to reward good and innovative practice by local authorities, this is an encouraging sign. You can find the DfT's announcement here.

This follows on from KCC gaining a disproportionate share of the March 2014 Weather Repair Fund (£8.6m out of £173m). It also comes on top of the £3m that the County Council allocated for a 'find and fix' programme in its budget in April.

Progress in fixing the roads has been rapid in recent months, and this additonal funding should help us to improve further. You can report a pothole or other highways problems on the KCC website.

Well Hill: what happened last week

Last week I posted an article (12 May) anticipating that pothole repairs would be carried out in Well Hill. A road closure was arranged for the section of the road south of the junction with Firmingers Road.

However, when Kent Highways staff started to close the road on Wednesday morning (14 May) they encountered considerable hostility from some drivers and ultimately withdrew from the scene. Quite apart from being shocking behaviour towards the staff, this has meant that the potholes - some of them very deep - remain.

I understand that a closure will be undertaken once more during the week commencing 2 June. This time it will be more comprehensive, covering the entire length of the road. There is considerable justification for this, since the deepest potholes are to the north of the Firmingers Road junction, though this will inevitably mean a much more extensive diversion. 

In the meantime, there will be interim patching of the potholes before the weekend.

Well Hill closure update

Further to my post last Thursday, Well Hill has indeed been closed today for pothole repairs. The details of how this will work are now rather clearer than they were at the end of last week.

The closure will be for today and tomorrow, between 0930 and 1530. It will only affect the road between the junction with Rock Hill and that with Firmingers Road, so the latter can serve as a diversion.

Some of the biggest potholes are in fact in the section heading north from the Firmingers Road junction towards Parkgate Road. However, Kent Highways have told me that they are able to work on this section without a closure, so this too should be completed today or tomorrow. It is possible that these latter works may need revisiting later in the year, but they should be good for some time.

Well Hill closed for pothole repairs on Monday

A couple of weeks ago, I reported to the AGM of the Well Hill Residents' Association. I didn't get to deliver the report in person because of long traffic delays on the M20 after the closure of the M26 as a result of a fatal accident. The report has, however, since been circulated to residents.

In this I stated that the potholes in Well Hill were due to be fixed in May. This would inevitably require a road closure. Kent Highways have now confirmed that the road will be closed next Monday, May 12, for the works to be carried out.

The email announcing this was a little unclear, since it is stated on the one side that the road would be closed in its entirety, yet also suggested Firmingers Road as a detour. I have raised a query about this and will update this post when I get clarification. The very worst potholes (picture) are in the section of the road between Firmingers Road and Parkgate Road, so it may be that the section closer to Rock Hill will be left open.

Eynsford potholes: temporary works now set for next week

It was a bit of a shock to come back from a week's holiday and discover that the temporary patching of the potholes in High Street in Eynsford had not been carried out - contrary to my firm belief at the time of my previous post on the subject.

The reason for this, it transpires, is that Southern Gas Networks secured a permit for emergency works in the same area, and the two projects could not go on at the same time. Kent Highways have been pushing to get on site, but have not been able to do so this week. However, I now understand that they should now be able to carry out the works next Tuesday.

The plan for resurfacing the road between Mill Lane and the Baptist Church in July remains unchanged.

Eynsford: resurfacing the High Street

The High Street in Eynsford, especially the section outside the school, has been left in a poor state, with many large potholes, since the severe winter weather.

I have for some time been discussing with Kent Highways their proposals for tackling the problem. There have been suggestions for jet patching work pending more thoroughgoing repairs, and more recently a proposal that resurfacing work would be done in May.

Kent Highways are now proposing carrying out the works, which will require a road closure, in late July. This would take advantage of the school holidays as well as higher road temperatures at night, which will be more suitable for the material that will be used. In addition, carrying out the works in July will yield a significant financial saving by comparison with May -  a material consideration when the resurfacing budget for Sevenoaks is stretched pretty thin.

The section to be resurfaced will run southwest from the junction with Mill Lane to the Baptist Church. Temporary repairs will be carried out in the meantime to improve the surface for road users prior to the full resurfacing. While there may be concerns that temporary patching is inefficient, my understanding is that the cost invoked is much smaller than the saving yielded by carrying out the main resurfacing work in July.

As of this evening, the holes that need temporary patching have been marked out with white lines. These short-term works should be carried out within seven working days.

£2.5 million extra for potholes

Kent's roads have inevitably taken serious damage during the recent floods and heavy rainfall. In recent years, the County Council has launched 'find and fix' initiatives to tackle potholes as we emerge from winter. Now KCC has allocated an extra £2.5 million from reserves for an immediate programme of pothole repairs.

Kent Highways will aim to fix potholes rapidly once they are reported. The best thing to do is to report a pothole online. Details of how to do it, and of the detail of KCC's initiative, can be found in this press release.