Potholes Create Hole in Monmouthshire's Highways Budget

Having come through the longest period of severe winter weather in over 30 years, Monmouthshire Highway engineers are counting the cost of damage to the county's roads.

Nigel Burgess, Head of Highways at Monmouthshire, said:

"We did a fantastic job of keeping the county's major roads open during the heavy snow and icy conditions. We gritted over 55,000 miles - more than twice round the world - of Monmouthshire's roads over the five weeks of bad weather. But the weather didn't just take a toll on our grit supplies. Now drivers in rural areas are being hit by significant dangers from newly emerging potholes."

Bryan Jones, cabinet member for Highways in Monmouthshire added:

"Many of our roads were in a critical condition at the beginning of winter. The fragile crazed surfaces are simply not up to the expansion and contraction that occurs during very cold icy weather. Every year, we look to repair our ailing roads once warmer temperatures return.  This year, the deterioration has been vast, and is there for all to see.  I believe the cost of repairs to Monmouthshire's roads and bridges following this year's snowy winter weather will exceed £1million."

Nigel Burgess added:

"The council's budgets are not sufficient to deal with once in a generation winters like this.  We have had ten times the number of service calls that we usually get at this time of year, and we are now swamped with repair work.  We are looking at reprioritising our activities over the coming months to do the best we can to repair our roads.  This means that other maintenance work, such as drain cleaning, will suffer. And our citizens are going to get a poorer highway service for some time to come. It's also worth remembering that winter is far from over. It is very possible that we will see further snow and icy conditions before Easter."

The latest toll on Monmouthshire's roads adds to an already alarming backlog.  Although the National Assembly for Wales has made some additional money available, it is nowhere near enough to cover the estimated repair bill. Officers of the council will be speaking to the Welsh Assembly.