Innovative technology boosts drive to repair Cumbria’s potholes

Cumbria County Council is harnessing extra resources to help repair damage to the county’s roads caused by freezing winter temperatures.

The Council is deploying innovative jet patching and thermal road patching machines across Cumbria to fix potholes, carry out emergency road repairs and seal worn sections of carriageway.

The high-powered jet patching equipment uses a cold bitumen emulsion that is forced into every crack and crevice under high pressure to fill a pothole. Thermal road patching machines work by melting the existing poor road surface and producing a permanent, heat-sealed, seamless repair which re-establishes the original quality of the road.

Jet patchers are capable of carrying out up to 150 road repairs each day, making them a highly efficient and cost effective way of repairing damaged road surfaces.

Thermal road patchers can repair a road defect in as little as 15 minutes, much faster than using traditional road repair methods This technology can reduce carbon emissions, minimise disruption to the public and traffic, and facilitate a faster repair.

This work is in addition to the Council’s Highways Teams who continue to work tirelessly to maintain the county’s roads, keeping them safe for road users.

Cllr Keith Little, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: “Freezing temperatures this winter have taken their toll on the condition of roads in Cumbria. Repairing damaged road surfaces is a top priority for the county council, and we’re deploying this patching technology to support this essential work. 

“These machines provide an extremely fast, efficient method that can permanently repair a pothole in a fraction of the time it usually takes conventional repair methods. The repairs are more cost effective and are instantly ready to take vehicles reducing disruption to the public and providing a long lasting repair.” 

A total of six jet patching machines are being used by the Council’s contractors, Velocity Ltd and Nu-Phalt Contracting Ltd, to repair road defects throughout the county over the coming weeks. In addition, thermal patching machines are being deployed fixing potholes by Nu-Phalt.

A third contractor for the Council, Sharps – Asphalt Ltd, is also working on pothole repairs in Cumbria, using Mastic Asphalt for a durable and long lasting waterproof repair.