Oxfordshire County Council has used a single stretch of road as a test site to compare seven different methods of repairing minor defects, in what is believed to be the first trial of its kind in the UK.
This week, the highway authority and maintenance contractor Milestone Infrastructure used the road between Steventon and East Hanney to trial different methods of filling in potholes or repairing minor defects requiring ‘patching’.
Some of these methods are already used in Oxfordshire – including the Milestone dragon patcher – while the others were new ones sourced by Milestone.
The seven methods were:
- Bobcat
- Dragon Patcher
- Paco Patch
- JCB pothole pro
- Cold lay
- Mastic asphalt
- Thermal repairs
The road was closed and a 1km stretch was divided into sections. Each section had a different type of pothole or patch repair carried out to get a direct comparison of the various methods.
Cllr Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for highway management, said: ‘Like all councils, we are not given enough government funding for this work. That’s why we are so excited about this project, which we hope will increase value for money and improve the service we offer Oxfordshire’s road users.
‘We hope this robust trial will provide evidence and information for our contractors about what repair methods work best by testing them on the same stretch of road.’
Richard Lovewell, business director at Milestone Infrastructure, said: ‘Although many of the technologies seen are already in use across Oxfordshire, the learnings from comparing different repair techniques on the same stretch of road will enable us to determine the optimum solutions to maximise value for our customers, protect the environment and better serve the communities in which we operate.’
The trial will allow comparisons of the type of repair, equipment, material, and labour used, and the time taken. This would include an understanding of the potential results, longevity of repairs, waste generated, carbon impact, use of recycled content and productivity that may be achievable.
The next stage will involve contractors returning for at least four more days of work and additional testing and analysis to enable a longer-term review of the methods.
