Sponsored Editorial

KCC Highways teams are working hard to repair the highway faults across the county with spring around the corner.

It has been a particularly busy time already for KCC with gritting crews on standby as the country entered a cold snap this week.

As well as carrying out inspections of our road network, the council also relies on reports from members of the public to identify problems such as potholes.

Between December 2022 and 24 January 2023, KCC received 9,241 reports of potholes on roads it looks after compared to 2,018 in the same period the year before that.

Work is underway to clear the backlog of repairs which has built up because of wet and wintry weather leading to water getting trapped in the road surface.

The trapped moisture freezes in extreme cold and then thaws when it is susceptible to crumbling once cars and other vehicles move over it, which is what creates potholes.

KCC’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, David Brazier said: “The recent winter weather has taken its toll on roads across the country.

“Since December, the number of reports our highways engineers have received about damage to our roads has increased fivefold.

“As a result, our committed teams including those who drive our gritters, are working days, evenings and weekends to make repairs.

“We always prioritise safety critical work and while we tackle this, there may be a slight delay in completing non-urgent repairs.

“Safety is a top priority for the council and I want to thank residents and road users for their continued patience and urge them to continue to report faults where they see them.”

Residents and road users can continue to report faults that they see on our roads by visiting www.kent.gov.uk/potholes, and see information on how we go about maintaining and repairing our roads.

Maintaining Kent’s roads is a 365-day-a-year operation and as the weather begins to warm, KCC will be getting ready for the spring ahead.

This includes getting ready to mow and maintain verges, hedges and grass around and near our roads, where the land is owned by the council. This is particularly important to ensure drivers have a clear view in and out of junctions.