Lancashire’s highway teams are predicted to fix around 36,000 potholes this year, and are asking Preston residents to help to report any they find on the county council’s website.

Surveys show the overall condition of Lancashire’s roads is improving, with the council’s road repair experts currently making the most of the warmer weather to resurface 175 miles of roads.

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The wet and stormy winter has had an impact though, and highways teams have been working hard to deal with more potholes than usual over recent months.

Repair teams focused on responding only to safety critical defects during the early stages of the coronavirus lockdown, but most highway work has now resumed with social distancing and extra safety measures in place.

Local residents can do their bit to help by providing accurate information about the location of potholes, and only reporting those that are big and deep enough to need to be repaired.

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Lancashire’s pothole-fixing teams are able to repair up to 20 holes a day, but could do an even better job if more people used the Report It tool to provide good quality information when they find a pothole.

County Councillor Keith Iddon, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Last winter wasn’t particularly cold, but it was very wet, with storms Ciara and Dennis having a particular impact on our roads.

“Consistent investment has led to a gradual improvement in the condition of our A, B and C roads in recent years, and to manage the impact of the winter and ensure this trend continues we’re planning to spend around £26 million on maintaining our 4,600 miles of roads and 5,300 miles of footways.

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“We dedicate significant resources to fixing potholes, and our repair teams, who spend all day repairing them, do a really good job in all weathers to keep our roads safe.

“We’re again asking people to help us respond to potholes by taking the time to provide accurate information when they report them, preferably by using the Report It function on our website.

“This is a quick and easy process where people can pinpoint the pothole on a map, and provide an approximation of its size, as well as attach photographs.

“This information allows us to quickly assess the risk it presents and decide how to prioritise it.

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“Without accurate information it can be difficult to identify the issue being reported which is time-consuming for our highways teams, and potentially frustrating for whoever has made the report.”

The county council continuously reviews its approach to maintaining the roads and this year will be recycling more asphalt than ever to reduce its impact on the environment.

The use of techniques which reheat the old material allowing it to be reused during the resurfacing process is being extended, which should see 19,000 tonnes of asphalt being diverted from landfill, and 1,800 wagon journeys eliminated.

Potholes on roads need to be 40mm deep before the council will repair them, with potholes on pavements or road crossings only needing to be 25mm deep to help prevent trips and slips.

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