Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How can I get in touch to report a pothole?
2. Why are potholes such a problem, especially during winter?
3. How do you work out what to repair?
4. How many teams do you have on the highways fixing damage caused by the bad weather?
5. Why don't you do a full resurface rather than just fix the potholes?
6. Why do you resurface a road but return shortly afterwards?

1. Q. How can I get in touch to report a pothole?
   A. To report a problem simply log on to www.worcestershire.gov.uk/reportapothole and tell us about it. Alternatively, call the Worcestershire Hub on 0845 607 2005.
   
2. Q. Why are potholes such a problem, especially during winter?
   A.  Potholes usually form in areas where water has managed to ingress into the part of the road surface below the tarmac (sub-base). When this water freezes it expands causing the tarmac to fracture and fail.
   
3. Q. How do you work out what to repair?
   A. Each individual pothole is visited by a highway inspector who carries out a risk assessment for the particular area it is located in e.g., outside a school, hospital, medical centre, shopping area, is it on a high or low speed road and how large is it. He will then allocate a response time to repair the pothole which reflects the hazard posed to highway users.
   
4. Q. How many teams do you have on the highways fixing damage caused by the bad weather?
   A. During severe winter weather we can have as many as 30 teams repairing potholes across the county.
   
5. Q. Why don't you do a full resurface rather than just fix the potholes?
   A. Pothole repairs are only a temporary repair solution that removes a possible danger from the highway as soon as possible with the minimum of inconvenience. Having teams carrying out permanent repairs on icy roads using contemporary traffic management could cause problems with traffic delays and prevent effective gritting during severe weather. If more permanent works are required at a later date, these can be carried out when weather conditions are more suitable and will allow for safe and sensible traffic management.
   
6. Q. Why do you resurface a road but return shortly afterwards?
   A. This is usually where structural (deep dig) patching has been carried out to remove defective areas of the carriageway in advance of surface dressing the following year; this is a seasonal process that can only be carried out during the summer months, this seals the carriageway surface preventing further water ingress and improves skid resistance.

This page was last reviewed 23 August 2012 at 11:41.
The page is next due for review 19 February 2014.