Future of roads minister Lilian Greenwood has visited the JCB Power Systems factory in Foston, Derbyshire, to mark National Pothole Day.
The Nottingham South MP was able to get a feel for some of the machines helping fix Britain’s highways.
Notably she saw the JCB Pothole Pro in action, a machine that is deployed by 20 local authorities across the country and can fix a road defect in eight minutes at a cost of around £30 – 'half the cost of traditional methods,' JCB notes.
The minister also met local leaders to discuss plans for filling potholes in Derbyshire. Department for Transport officials said this was part of the Government’s plans 'to work more closely with local authorities to ensure they have the powers to spend it where their communities need it most'.
Ms Greenwood said: 'Today is National Pothole Day and I am absolutely delighted to be with JCB in Derbyshire. It’s time for change and we are investing £1.6bn to fix up to seven million more potholes across England next year, including over £75m for the East Midlands Combined Authority.'
However, this funding is for general maintenance and can be spent on preventative as well as reactive repairs such as pothole filling, so the figure of seven million more potholes is an equivalent rather than a precise figure.
Ms Greenwood added: 'It’s really important that we make best use of that funding and local authorities look at what new technologies and innovations they can adopt to make sure they can fix as many potholes in a permanent way.
'One of the things people get really frustrated about is that a pothole gets fixed and then it’s in the same state a few months later, so it’s really important that local authorities are looking at new innovations and equipment. JCB’s Pothole Pro is one of the many great examples of using new technology to repair potholes faster and demonstrates how companies are harnessing new technology to repair potholes faster.'
JCB Municipalities general manager Ben Rawding said: 'As the Government embarks on a huge investment in England’s roads, we were delighted to show the Future of Roads Minister just how innovative and cost effective the JCB Pothole Pro is at providing a permanent fix for potholes.'
As part of its Plan for Change, the Government has pledged to help deliver safer, smoother journeys, reducing delays and saving drivers money.
