4,000 Potholes in Luton Repaired

4 April 2010, 06:00

Luton Borough council has repaired 4,000 potholes since the beginning of the year - and resurfaced six of its worse affected roads - following damage caused by the worst winter weather in 30 years.

Like most areas of the country, the borough's roads were subjected to repeat 'freeze and thaw' - whereby water in cracks expanded into ice, causing surfaces to break up and deeper than usual potholes to form.

To fix this, Luton Borough Council employed three dedicated 'search and repair' teams, each with two members of staff, who toured the borough and are now completing their second rotation.

Pothole repairs in Luton to date this year have cost £45,681.68 or £11.42 each. Meanwhile an additional 3102,000 has also been allocated to pothole repairs in the Council's budget for 2010/11.

Councillor Don Worlding is the Executive Member for Transport at Luton Borough Council. He's been telling Heart that reports of potholes from the public peaked in mid-March, at about 14 a day, but that numbers have now dropped off considerably as the backlog has been largely cleared.

"Our staff inspect all highway defects reported by the public, with a view to making safe any that are dangerous within 24 hours.

"We also made available emergency funding of £500,000 to resurface ten of the worst affected roads, six of which have already been treated and the remainder are scheduled for repair in the next few weeks."

The six roads which have already been resurfaced are Grasmere Road, Taunton Avenue, Bury Park Road, Humberstone Road, Capron Road, South Drift Way.

If you spot any dangerous potholes you can report them to the Council by calling 01582 510333 or via email at highway.maintenance@luton.gov.uk or via the Council’s website www.luton.gov.uk using the Do It Online service