With more than £11 billion needed to repairs the UK’s potholes, JCB has developed Pothole Pro – a machine that can help.
The construction equipment company has created Pothole Pro, which can repair holes in under eight minutes. With a 40km/h (25mph) top speed, it can move between sites relatively quickly, with no added transport costs.
The news comes today, on National Pothole Day, to highlight the problems poor surfaces cause to all road users.
The repair rate of eight minutes is four times faster than standard methods and half the cost. Use of the Pothole Pro also requires fewer construction staff, helping to cut risk of injuries or accidents.
AA Research shows more than 32% of drivers have experienced damage from tyres hitting potholes in the past two years. The survey also revealed that while 51% have seen bad potholes but not reported them.
For hauliers, the damage and delays caused by these holes can mean huge drops in efficiency levels. It means specific journeys are impacted and can also mean time off the road for tyre repair or replacement.
“Potholes really are the scourge of our nation,” said said Lord Bamford, JCB’s chairman. “Our country is quite rightly fixated on this dreadful problem and I am fixated on finding a solution.
We simply cannot allow our national road network to continue to be blighted by potholes,” he added. “JCB’s solution is simple and cost effective and fixes potholes permanently, first time. Once the machine has done its job all the contractor then needs to do is just add tar.”
Stoke-on-Trent trialled the machine for months, with the council working as JCB’s innovation partner on the project.
During the testing phase, the Pothole Pro made 51 road repairs in 20 days. Using traditional methods the same jobs would require six workmen and need 63 days to complete.
