Pothole Blitz

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Council embarks on a major pothole and pavement repair project

Every street in the borough will be inspected in the coming months following the very harsh winter which caused an unusually high number of potholes to appear in roads throughout the country - and in Wandsworth, the council has heard the message from residents that they want urgent action to sort out the problem.

The council announced today that "shrewd management of the council's finances has enabled Wandsworth to increase the road repair budget to £6.4m this year". This has led to the creation of six special pothole and pavement action crews, who will be working to repair potholes and pavements, ward by ward, over the months ahead.

Transport spokesman, Councillor Russell King said: "Keeping our borough moving is one of the council's top priorities, and that includes mending potholes and repairing pavements to benefit all forms of travel, whether it be walking, cycling or driving. We are prioritising any critical problems for immediate repair, and at the same time, working our way across every street in the borough."

Wandsworth is responsible for 1,500 roads stretching over 360km with 746km of pavements, many of which were constructed more than 100 years ago.

The country has seen some of the worst winters over the past four years causing huge damage by weakening the road surface and creating many more potholes.

The six repair crews will be checking and fixing problems in every street across the borough in a rolling programme over the coming months. They will be working in six wards at a time. Three teams will be repairing potholes and three repairing pavements. This doesn't mean other urgent repairs elsewhere will be ignored. A rapid response team will be dealing with those.

"We know where the problems are and all significant potholes and broken pavements will be fixed," added Cllr King. "Minor defects may not merit urgent attention, and these will continue to be monitored."

In addition, many roads will be completely resurfaced and some roads will have their pavements completely re-laid. Leaflets are being sent to homes across the borough to let people know when the repair crews will be working in their neighbourhoods.

You can report a street defect online. Alternatively, email dtsonstreetservices@wandsworth.gov.uk.

Find out more about the council's pothole and pavement repair project.

May 10, 2013