100 tonnes of pothole filler per week!
You’ll be pleased to know we’ve had some success with our continued efforts to lobby for the substantial State funding needed to smooth over our widespread pothole crisis.
We moved quickly to secure $418,725.51 from $500 million in NSW Government Grant funding to help regional Councils across NSW repair roads severely damaged by extreme weather conditions. And we don’t intend to stop there!
WSC has joined other councils, to collectively contend for the much larger investment required to satisfactorily restore our roads. An NRMA survey has put a price tag of $1.9 billion on what it’s going to take to fix the state-wide pothole emergency.
Our dedicated pothole crews are churning out 100 tonnes of filler per week!
“ At the height of the June/July weather, we went through 25 semi-trailer loads (or 680 tonnes) of pothole filler in just 10 days,” says Paul Dunford, Coordinator Infrastructure Maintenance.
“Even at this rate, it’s impossible to keep up with the potholes that keep forming with heavy rains and flooding.”
To put the problem in perspective, Wingecarribee Shire spans an area close to the combined size of 20 Sydney metro Council, yet has an annual budget of just $6.8 million to maintain roads valued at $968 million.
About 50KG of cold-mix is needed to repair a single pothole and many of our roads are damaged to the extent that they require total reconstruction. “We understand people’s frustration. We are doing everything we can to tackle pothole hazards, and reduce wear and tear on vehicles, until a more permanent solution is possible.” Paul says. “More than 14,000 potholes have recently been filled and we will stretch this additional funding as far as we can, across the 1,300km of local roads impacted.”
Let us know about a pothole at wsc.nsw.gov.au/Services/Request-a-Service.