Motorists in Swansea are being urged to take care on roads across the city after the recent cold weather increased the number of potholes and defects that Swansea Council has to deal with.
The Council has had an increase in the number of telephone calls relating to potholes being made to its Highways Maintenance Service.
Carl Humphreys, Head of Highways in Swansea Council, said: “Generally, road surfaces have a life expectancy of approximately 25 years. The recent cold weather has caused some roads to deteriorate much quicker than they would under normal conditions. The problem is something that Councils across the UK are experiencing.
“It’s too early to say at this stage what the extent of the damage caused by the current cold snap is but we do have a system in place where inspectors regularly monitor roads to pick up on defects such as potholes.
“We then plan the works according to priorities.”
Mr Humphreys added that the increased reports by members of the public was helping the Council to get a better picture of the problem and meant that problems could be fixed much more quickly.
He said: “We do rely on help from the public in letting us know the location of potholes.
“We’d urge anyone with information to get in touch so we can determine the best course of action.
“It’s been a very busy winter so far with a lot of gritting work. The severe weather has stretched our services but we have coped very well. Dealing with the problems caused by the bad weather will also prove to be a busy time but we are working hard to get roads back to normal.”
To report a problem with a pothole use our online reporting form at http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2169 or call the Council’s emergency hotline on 0800 132081.
