Pothole repairs drop in West Sussex

Fewer potholes have been reported in West Sussex so far this year compared to 12 months ago.

West Sussex County Council fixed 1,475 potholes across the county in January 2015. In January 2014, the local authority repaired 4,117 potholes, meaning the number of defects that needed fixing has dropped by 64% in a year.

The council launched a two-year scheme called Better Roads in April 2014 and targeted rural and residential roads in most need of repair.

This work, combined with drier weather compared to last year, has helped improve the state of the network.

The council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, Pieter Montyn, said: “The fall in the number of potholes that had to be fixed this January is an indicator our Better Roads strategy is working. Of course, we are at mercy of the weather, but so far progress has been encouraging. We rely on the public to be vigilant and wherever they see a pothole, they should report it to us so we can investigate.”

Since the Better Roads Programme started in April 2014, 15,000 potholes and 1.8 million square miles of road have been replaced.