Five new roadmenders have been deployed to help maintain Leicestershire’s highways.
The vehicles, also known as ‘hotboxes’, will be used to repair thousands of potholes and other defects in their lifetimes across 2,575 miles of county roads.
Last year Leicestershire County Council completed 8,764 road repairs - an average of 168 jobs a week.
The new machines cost around £750,000 and will replace older equipment. They will ensure good-quality repairs can be done effectively and efficiently on the county’s carriageways and footways.
Cllr Ozzy O’Shea, county council lead member for roads and transport, said: “Ensuring we have the right equipment to repair our roads and help protect road users is vital.
“We deal with thousands of road defects every year so these machines will be working hard.
“These high-spec machines keep the asphalt used to repair potholes warm and have a compartment to take the waste away, meaning our teams can complete repairs at several different locations each day with minimal waste and downtime.
“Speed of response for this type of work is important to keep our highways safe for all users, but these vehicles also enable us to complete good quality permanent repairs.”
Factfile
- The roadmenders keep the asphalt used to repair potholes warm and workable, thanks to a hotbox’ with a three cubic metre capacity (approx. the size of 19 bathtubs)
- Digital technology includes a temperature control and hydraulically driven discharge augers (which look like giant corkscrews) that keep the warm asphalt in optimum condition for repairing the roads
- At the side of the vehicle is a hydraulic skip bucket to take the waste material away, making it an efficient operation from one vehicle
The county council as the local highways authority has a responsibility for maintaining 2,575 miles of roads, planning roadworks and gritting roads when needed in the winter.
Roads are routinely inspected to identify defects that could cause immediate danger to highway users, support the development of programmes of work and keep the highway in a serviceable condition. Learn more about our road maintenance programme.