THEY ARE the bane of motorists’ lives and sometimes it feels as if there is more pothole than road.
But across Fife a dedicated team is out and about, carrying out repairs to as many potholes as possible.
It has been all hands on deck at Fife Council’s transportation and environmental services department this year as staff got to grips with the potholes which emerged after last year’s heavy rain and flooding.
On average last year the local authority repaired 600 potholes every week.
However, last week this increased to an estimated 1,100.
Many of these were emergency repairs because the council’s first priority is to make roads safe.
These temporary repairs will receive a permanent treatment at a later date.
The council aims to fill all large potholes, which are classed as emergencies, within 24 hours of them being reported and inspected.
The local authority achieved this 99% of the time last year.
It aims to fix smaller, non-emergency potholes within five working days and had a 96% success rate in this last year.
Fife Council’s executive spokesperson for transport and environment, Councillor Pat Callaghan, said: “The forces of nature have created a big challenge for our roads team lately.
“The heavy rainfall and flooding we experienced in autumn and the coastal flooding just before Christmas caused considerable damage to Fife’s road network.
“Since New Year we have deployed all available resources to repairing this damage and as a result fixed as many potholes last week as we normally would do in a fortnight.
“We’d like to thank everyone who’s been in touch to report road faults in their area and reassure you our priority it to keep Fife’s roads safe for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.”
As well as the council’s comprehensive inspection system, 10% of the 30,000 potholes it repairs every year are reported by members of the public.
The council asks that if a member of the public spots a hole they should get in touch either online at
fifedirect.org.uk/potholes
or by calling 08451 55 00 11.
This line is open seven days a week, from 8am to 8pm.
leclark@thecourier.co.uk