COUNCIL workers have filled in more than 12,000 potholes during a two-month blitz.
Kirklees stepped up its road inspections following the cold weather earlier this year.
A council spokeswoman revealed yesterday that 12,630 potholes had been repaired between February 23 and April 17.
Kirklees inspected 6,500 streets following the heavy snow this winter.
Rainwater in the cracks in tarmac freezes when temperatures drop. The resulting ice can damage the road surface when it thaws.
During the two-month blitz the council had 10 crews at work rather than the normal two.
But the AA said yesterday that this kind of repair work was just storing up problems for later.
President Edmund King said: “Without proper repair of roads torn up by potholes, these dangerous hazards will re-emerge to plague drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists until next Spring’s repair programme by local authorities.
“After the initial onslaught of potholes in February, most local authorities worked fast to fill them. However, this vicious cycle of roads not being structurally repaired and falling to pieces again is a curse local authorities are unable or unwilling to shake off.”
And a new report suggests there’s a long way to go to deal with the pothole problem.
The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey was released today. It shows that English councils have an average pothole backlog of £6m.
And, despite the fact that nearly a million potholes were filled in last year, there is still an average of one hole every 120 yards of road.
Asphalt Industry Alliance chairman Mike Linley called for more Government spending. He said: “Allowing our roads to deteriorate into such a condition is irresponsible on several levels.
“Much of the £6bn expenditure announced by the Government in January has been allocated to projects that will not see the light of day for years, if at all. Highway maintenance provides the ‘shovel-ready’ projects which the Government is looking for to stimulate the economy.”
