Swansea Council is going all out to tackle problem potholes after freezing conditions caused road surfaces to break apart.
Councils in Wales have been given extra money by the Assembly to help deal with the problem.
In Swansea, an extra team dedicated to repairing potholes has been drafted in to assist the existing winter maintenance staff.
The team will work alongside Council highway crews and will include workers from the Swansea Highway Partnership.
The Council has also confirmed that the PATCH – Priority Action for Community Highways service – will be launched a month earlier than planned in a bid to tackle more serious road defects and carry out larger repairs.
In a normal month, the Council could receive up to 300 reports of significant road faults to its emergency highway hotline and many more reports of less serious defects.
It’s anticipated that the Council could receive more than twice this number after the severe freezing conditions experienced in December.
Carl Humphrey, Head of Streetscene in Swansea Council, said: “We have been inundated with calls from residents about potholes and, similar to last year, the freezing conditions we have experienced have led to an increase in road defects.
“It’s vital that we prioritise the work and ensure we deal with defects which are considered significant or pose a risk to motorists and pedestrians.
“To help us deal with the increase in repairs required, we have drafted in an extra maintenance team from the Swansea Highway Partnership.
“We’ve also brought forward the planned PATCH initiative so we can target the larger repairs needed on some of our roads.”
Anyone who spots a pothole should contact the Council’s Emergency Highway Hotline on 0800 132081.
