Understanding the pothole-plagued state of the UK’s roads
Drivers are now twice as likely to suffer a breakdown due to "sub-standard road surfaces" compared to 2006. As a result, the state of the UK’s roads has been described as ‘miserable’.
Indeed, new figures have suggested that vehicle breakdowns rose by 9% between early 2023 and early 2024, due to potholes. However, the situation is seemingly only getting worse, with The RAC reporting having attended 7,904 breakdowns in the first quarter of 2024 due to bad road surfaces. This is a huge increase of 53% on the last three months of 2023.
However, uneven road surfaces aren’t just an inconvenience. Potholes, cracks, and surface degradation can be catastrophic for vehicles. The impact of hitting a pothole can damage a vehicle's suspension, impacting parts such as shock absorbers and springs and ball joints. This can have a knock-on effect for the rest of the vehicle, resulting in poorer handling and uneven tyre wear. Not to mention the frustration drivers feel at the damage potholes are causing their cars.
As a result, the cost of mending the UK’s pothole-plagued roads has been estimated at £16.3bn. In response, the last government set aside an additional £8.3bn of funding to fix potholes in England until 2034. The trouble is, that’s only enough to fully resurface 5,000 miles of roads – equivalent to just 3% of all of England’s local roads. So, local authorities need new and innovative methods to be able to stretch the funding they have for road repairs as far as possible. One of these methods is surface dressing.
The new method on the block: What is surface dressing?
Waterproofing roads that are starting to crack and show defects can help to protect them from the effects of water and ice. This is because of weather conditions that fluctuate around 0 degrees, and can turn existing cracks and deformations into potholes when they get filled with water which freezes over and expands.
Surface dressing roads is a preventative road surface repair technique that is applied to roads to preserve and seal the surface by making it permanently waterproof. Surface dressing is extremely cost-effective, as it can also be used to restore the road’s surface at the same time. It also provides improved resistance to skidding, meaning it also improves road safety for drivers.
To surface dress a road, the road is first sprayed with bitumen binder and then covered with a layer of aggregates (stone or gravel chippings) which are pressed into the surface with a roller. Any loose stones are then swept away to prevent any damage to vehicles. Roads are normally treated between April and September due to the need for warm, dry weather to establish the dressing.
Although, it must be noted that surface dressing is not a suitable solution for pothole repairs.
Enduring excellence: Why JCB’s Pothole Pro remains the long-term solution
The JCB Pothole Pro is the local authority’s ultimate ally for road pothole repairs. It provides a unique 3-in-1 solution specifically designed to mechanise jobs previously done by pothole gangs and sort out repairs and large reinstatement operations. Because it comes with 3 dedicated attachments to cut, crop and clean (a planer, a cropper and a sweeper), there’s no need for additional specialist equipment or extra manpower.
As a result, the JCB Pothole Pro enables all this in just one machine:
- Cut from the cab – the easily-adjustable 600mm planer means you can cut the defect cleanly with greater accuracy and consistency, regardless of the gradient, you can remove the top layer to ensure a smooth and even surface.
- Crop for repairs that last – The 400mm hardened steel cropping blade ensures the cut has square edges allowing for the new asphalt to bind permanently into the road surface.
- Clean with one machine – the 1200mm wide sweeper collector with dust suppression enables operators to prepare the cropped defect for reinstatement and clean up the debris from the repair site, all with one machine.
As a result, the JCB Pothole Pro provides the ability to sort out any pothole repair or large reinstatement operation in just eight minutes that's five times quicker than standard pothole repair methods, at half the cost of current solutions. All you need to do is add the tar.
Better together: How JCB’s Pothole Pro and surface dressing work as the ultimate duo
The key to fixing the UK’s roads in the most cost-effective and efficient way is by combining surface dressing with the use of the JCB Pothole Pro.
Surface dressing is the ideal method for maximising the longevity of roads that are just beginning to crack. By using surface dressing on these roads, local councils can put aside the money saved towards more extensive repairs on roads that have serious potholes.
In these instances, the JCB Pothole Pro provides the most efficient and cost-effective solution for permanently repairing the potholes that destroying the UKs roads.
Used together, these methods can enable local authorities to repair as many of the UK’s roads as possible, with the funding they have available.
Paving the way forward: The future of road maintenance
While the recent influx of funding that’s been made available to help fix the UKs roads is extremely welcome, on its own it is not enough to repair the extent of the damage that’s been inflicted. As a result, local authorities need a solution that is not only fast and effective but can help to solve the crisis with the funding that they have. The clear solution, therefore, is for local authorities to embrace a combination of surface dressing and the JCB Pothole Pro machine for deeper, more extensive repairs.
Indeed, councils across the UK are already turning to the JCB Pothole Pro to power them through the current backlog of pothole repairs. One of these is the Scottish Borders Council.