Product Review

Watch New JCB Pot Hole Pro Pothole Filling Machine In Action

A UK city is set to deploy a ‘pothole squad’ as it rolls out a £240,000 (US$304,000) program to fix road defects across the borough including the use of a new machine. Council believes the scheme will be ‘transformational’ but a report on the plan was slammed as ‘waffle’ by the opposition.

Last year, the government announced £8.3 million (US$10.5m) of extra funding for road maintenance across England over the next ten years. Harrow will receive £241,000 (US$305, 000) for next year and a further £241,000 (US$305, 000) for the following year.

The council’s highways contractor, JB Riney, will assemble a new ‘pothole squad’ to find and fix potholes quickly throughout the borough. Using the new £165,000 Pothole Pro JCB machine, repair work can be carried out in eight minutes.

Pothole Pro’s thermal infra-red technology is a permanent repair that recycles the existing surface material and creates minimal waste. The council suggests this new approach will ensure the fixes are ‘long lasting, more sustainable, and reduce net emissions’.

The machine is marketed as one that can ‘cut, crop and clean’ the road surface, effectively chopping out the defective section and refilling it with fresh tarmac, before cleaning up any mess. Due to its size the JCB is suitable for main roads and others that are wide enough to accommodate it, but it would struggle to get down some smaller residential roads.

The report was submitted and approved by the cabinet at a recent meeting (January 24). The council claim it will mean ‘fixing more potholes than ever before’ after more than 1,500 have been repaired over the past 12 months. The pothole squad will roll out a ‘find and fix’ approach, a strategy that the council believes will improve results as it is not having to rely on inspection reports or customer complaints.

CUT.
From the comfort of the cab.

600mm planer with hydraulic depth control improves operator accuracy and performance.
Side shifting planer can plane against the roadside curb.
Self-levelling provides consistency, regardless of the gradient.