Bad weather adds to pothole problem
The winter weather has wreaked havoc on the county’s roads with potholes appearing almost overnight – as these pictures show.
Roads have seen their surfaces crumble because of the moisture seeping into the cracks, which have then frozen and expanded.
And with sub-zero temperatures and the possibility of snow returning again this weekend there are fears the situation will only get worse.
Last year, Shropshire Council appointed a consultant to review the council’s entire highways service and provided advice on how to make what it called crucial improvements.
Exactly 12 months ago the council said it was no secret that many of the roads in the Shropshire area were in need of maintenance or repair.
Drivers across the county have taken to social media to highlight the amount of potholes that have appeared in recent weeks.
Aiden Allman, from Criftins, said the roads to and from Oswestry, via Gobwen and St Martins, as well as the route from St Martins to Ellesmere, were “absolutely atrocious”.
“Someone is going to get seriously hurt if the roads aren’t resurfaced soon,” he said.
Residents in Weston Lullingfields, north of Shrewsbury, say potholes they complained about last year have returned after what they described as a patching job.
Kim Downer, who has lived in the village for 40 years, says he has never seen the roads so bad, both in Weston Lullingfields and in nearby Baschurch.
He said that after complaints by villagers the worst holes were filled in in the autumn but many others were left as they were.
“After one day of rain the patched repairs are ruined and we are back at we started,” he added.
“We need the council to come and to do them properly rather than half a job.”
Shropshire Council has been asked to comment on the latest potholes.
On its website, it states that with more than 5,000 kilometres of roads, cycleways, footpaths and verges in Shropshire, it is not possible to inspect all of the network all of the time.
“We inspect all reported potholes and risk assess them to prioritise their repair,” the statement adds.
“They’ll either be classed as urgent or will be put into a planned programme of works to ensure they are repaired as efficiently as possible.
“Of course, potholes and other defects may occur between these inspections, particularly following freezing conditions when water in the road freezes and expands, cracking the road surface. This is why we rely on people reporting them to us.”
