Extra highways crews will be in place to help tackle defects across Staffordshire over the summer.
A total of 14 extra crews will be up and running by the end of June, with the crucial task of repairing the county’s potholes and other defects.
They will be based at all four of Staffordshire County Council’s highways depots: Leek, Lichfield, Gailey and Stone, and will be making the most of the dry weather to fix as many potholes as possible.
Alongside the county council’s regular highways crews, the ambition is to repair more potholes than ever before by the end of March 2027, weather permitting.
The crews are part of a £15 million extra investment in highways over the next two years, to tackle the backlog of lower-level potholes. These are potholes that do not cause serious safety issues that require urgent attention, but still need repairing.
The extra £15 million will also be used to fund innovative ways of fixing potholes, such as screeding and velocity patching, to ensure crews have the right machinery for the nature and location of each job.
Patrick Allen, Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Support Member for Highways North said:
“It’s great to see these new crews up and running, and they will make a real difference to local communities. Our hope is that in the coming months, residents will see an improvement on the roads, with many of those lower-level potholes that have perhaps been there for some time, finally fixed.
“Added to this, we are investing in new machinery and new ways of working, to ensure our crews have everything they need to get on with the job of fixing, and are working as efficiently as possible. Looking after some 4,000 miles of highway network is no easy task, but by getting more boots on the ground and having more ways to repair different types of defects, residents should really start to see smoother journeys across the county in the coming weeks and months.”
Crews will be working throughout the summer and into the autumn. Residents can report potholes and other highways issues through the county council’s ReportIt webpage.
