Council commences road repair 'surge'
With the approach of spring weather, Shropshire Council is commencing an intensive programme of road repairs that should see 72 stretches of road ‘top dressed’* and another 69 stretches of road resurfaced in the County over the next few months. This is in addition to the regular pothole teams.
Portfolio holder for roads, Lib Dem Councillor David Vasmer said: “All roads across the country take a beating from the weather in winter** but despite this, we managed to repair 2113 potholes this January, twice as many as the 1216 repaired in January 2025 – a 77% increase despite the weather.
“Shropshire Council is now initiating a new phase of repairs as the weather improves, aiming to build on the 21,000 potholes we filled since last May. We have also improved the structure of the road repair operation to improve efficiency, including:
- Creating ‘In-House’ Council teams that are more effective and responsive in dealing with holes
- Extending the contract of one particularly effective contractor - locally based MULTEVO- who use state-of-the-art machines to resurface whole stretches of potholed roads. From 1st April, their work is now being extended from A and B roads to C-class side roads
- The Council has secured money from the government specifically (i.e. ring-fenced) to improve our roads. An additional £1.2m in 2026/7 and £5.3m on top in 2027/8.
- ‘Top dress’ far more of the roads – a process that seals the road, stops water getting in and allows them to last far longer
Councillor Vasmer added: “We are now about to embark on our next, intensive, phase which will see significant stretches of roads repaired right across the county. This will include 72 stretches of road to be top dressed (see below) with approximately 69 more to be fully resurfaced. This is in addition to individual and groups of potholes being address by other repair teams”.
NOTES
* These are roads that have already been repaired. Top dressing will seal the surface and make those repairs more durable and less prone to freeze/thaw
**Mainly from ‘freeze/thaw’ action where water gets into cracks in the road and expands loosening the tarmac
PHOTO: Council Leader Heather Kidd