New road planing machine to target potholes across Shropshire this month
A new road planer machine is being mobilised to target potholes around Shropshire over the next few weeks.
Since April 2021, more than 21,000 potholes have been repaired across the Shropshire Council area.
The Multevo Multihog planes off the road surface to enable a squared-off hole to be filled by a following gang.
This process is quicker than having to saw-cut and break-out the defective road by hand, tackling potholes and other defects more quickly and effectively.
Crew one has already started work in north Shropshire and will be working until March 11 on Ash Lane to The Townsend junction.
Attentions will then turn to the A442 Radmoor Crossroads to county boundary from March 14 to 28 and Wem to Tilstock from March 19 to April 11.
The Multihog allows Shropshire Council to reduce the likelihood of potholes forming in the short- to-medium term and cuts down the need for road closures.
Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for highways, said: "The Multihog is a hugely important part of our work to tackle potholes and improve the county’s roads.
"Since we started using it last year use of the Multihog has shown a dramatic improvement in permanent road repairs, and it now forms an important part of our strategy to deliver meaningful repairs to roads across Shropshire."
Since the Multihog was officially adopted in late March 2021, the volume of the road network repaired has risen to around 150m² per gang each day, with three teams deployed across the county, allowing for an average of 9,000m² of road can be treated each month.
Other methods used to tackle potholes include the new Texpatch process, which is being used to treat urban roads and provides a longer-lasting, smoother, neater finish compared to traditional pothole repairs.
Meanwhile, four Roadmaster vehicles are also being used to carry out jet-patching on rural roads alongside more traditional repairs.
Two other crews will be in operation throughout the month with information on future roadworks below.
Crew two (south)
March 7 – B4363 Billingsley
March 8 to 11 – B4363 from B4555 to B4194 junction
March 14 to 18 – to be confirmed
March 21 – B4176 Chesterton
March 22 to 25 – Labrador to Sunrise Cottage (near Kinlet)
March 28 to 29 – B4363 Kinlet B4194 junction to B4199 junction
March 30 to April 1 – Richards Castle, Overton Road
Crew three (south)
March 2 to 5 – B4364 Telegraph Lane junction to A458 Bridgnorth
March 7 to 11– Oreton Road
March 14 to 15– B4367 Hopton Heath
March 16 to 17– B4385 county boundary to Redwood
March 18 – B4367 Broome Road, Clungunford
March 21 to 25 – Chapel Lawn
March 28 to April 1 – A4117 Tenbury Road to Office Lane
