11,500 potholes reported in two months
Devon County Council has almost tripled its number of road repair teams after 11,500 potholes are reported since the beginning of 2014.
The number of reported potholes is unprecedented with a normal winter typically seeing only around 2,000 reported across the whole season.
The Council has since brought in an extra 52 staff to carry out pothole repairs, bringing the number of teams up from 13 to 34 costing approximately £65,000 each week.
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management and Flood Prevention, said: “The Government has said that it will foot the bill for the storm damage, but despite putting extra resource into repairs there has been a massive increase in pothole numbers, from about 2,000 a month in a normal winter to about 7,400 in January alone.
“The recent changes to the Bellwin rules have been helpful in reducing the trigger point for funding from about £1.7 million to about £1 million before financial help is available, and the qualifying period has been extended until the end of May.”
Over the winter storm period, since 23 December, the County Council has recorded more than 1,300 reports of fallen trees and branches on Devon's roads, more than 150 embankment slips, and more than 4,000 flooding incidents across the county.
The clear-up of the storm damage is estimated to cost around £3 million to the end of the financial year, but the County Council is yet to finalise a figure for the damage caused by the storms as the road network and structures are still being assessed.
A motion passed by the full council yesterday will see the authority demand concerted action from the government to ensure the region’s road and rail links are made fit for purpose.
All-parties’ supported the initiative proposed by the authority’s deputy leader and Dawlish councillor John Clatworthy.
He urged councillors to support a call for the Government to give urgent attention and funding to restore Devon’s rail links and ensure the road network is fit for purpose.
Mr Clatworthy’s Notice of Motion reads: “The county council calls on the Government to make funds urgently available to assist in the immediate enhancement of the vital rail and road transport arteries linking Devon and the wider South West with the rest of the country.
“Devon’s main rail link has been cut off for two winters running and it is vital that work to improve its resilience at vulnerable locations such as Cowley Bridge, Dawlish and Teignmouth is undertaken urgently.
“The county council also seeks support to repair and improve our road network to ensure that Devon remains open for business so we can ensure our local industries have the right climate to create more jobs and not threaten the continuing economic recovery.”
The call will be reinforced on Tuesday when Devon County Council chief executive, Phil Norrey, appears before the House of Commons Select Committee on Transport and Devon co-hosts a meeting for the region’s MPs in Parliament to deliver a specially commissioned report on the resilience of the South West’s transport links.
The County Council is currently set to receive £35 million for its capital highways budget from Government for the next financial year, but with a growing maintenance backlog of £770 million this funding is unlikely to make much of a dent.
The council say that, Devon’s 8,000 mile highway network, the biggest of any authority in the country, needs around £64 million of investment a year to maintain its current condition.
Temporary traffic lights are in place on the A377 just north of Exeter at Langford.
One lane of the road was closed off earlier this week due to a potential landslip caused by the wet weather.
The soil is being cleared today closing the road until at least late tonight however as the extent of the work is still unknown work could potentially continue into Saturday.
A diversion route via A396 and A3072 has stopped bus service to stops between Cowley bridge and Crediton.
There have also been numerous small scale landslips. The Teign Valley Road (B3193) is currently closed due to a landslip near Trusham Quarry, but one lane should hopefully re-open with temporary traffic lights by this afternoon with a wall being constructed to prevent further slippage.
A number of roads have been washed away during the winter storms including the C253 Blackpool Valley Road at Stoke Fleming, a minor road at Hallsands and the road and public right of way near the Golf course at Thurlestone.
Old Beer Road in Seaton, which originally suffered a cliff collapse during storms in July 2012, has also sustained further damage on 6 February and again today (Thursday 20 February), losing more of the road and footway. Although the collapse is contained within fencing it is a reminder to take care in coastal areas.
The Highways Operation Control Centre (HOCC) has been the County Council’s focus for the co-ordination of the storm response, operating 24 hours a day and working with the Police and other emergency services, Environment Agency, District Councils, and Network Rail among others.
