If you spend time on social media, be that on Twitter or Facebook, at some point over the last couple of years you might have this video below.
OnTheWight reader Regan Hook got in touch with us to share it recently. The animated video shows a truck that seamlessly repairs potholes.
It claims that one truck can repair 50 potholes in a day.
This truck can fill potholes in under 5 minutes.pic.twitter.com/W7Vqg0ohmN
— James Melville (@JamesMelville) January 5, 2019
Real life example
Although the video above is just a concept video, through some further investigation, OnTheWight has discovered a company in the UK that has actually produced a vehicle which has the same function of the concept vehicle and they’ve been working on prototypes for several years.
The company claim that the Road Mole has over six years of proven circular repairs to potholes with zero failures.
A “like for like reinstatement of Asphalt”
A spokesperson for the company told OnTheWight that the repairs will last as long as the surrounding road surface and Road Mole repairs are a “like for like reinstatement of Asphalt”.
“Therefore if the road has a lifespan of over 12 months the repair pays for itself. The cost of the repair is comparable to a manual repair, but is a first time fix for the life of the road.”
No pneumatic drills or jack hammers
The spokesperson for Road Mole went on to explain,
“Road Mole eliminates HAVS (Hands Arm Vibration Syndrome)…no pneumatic drills or jack hammers. There is a cowl so no flying fragments, minimum dust and noise. There is no stronger shape for the repairs than the circle.”
The company say there are several systems available, ranging from 12 tonne rigs that can just drill, removing the entire damaged area, followed by a team of asphalters to complete the repair, to an 18 tonne all-in-one system which carries the asphalt on board.
The Island’s PFI contractor
The Isle of Wight’s Highways PFI contractor, Island Roads (aka Eurovia/Vinci Meridiam), are almost six years into their 25 year contract and have rebuilt or resurfaced around 300 kilometers of highway so far.
Anecdotally, there have been many complaints over the years on social media of potholes being repaired and failing pretty soon after.
Island Roads: “Number of potholes declined rapidly over years”
A spokesperson for Island Roads told OnTheWight,
“Island Roads will always look at the most effective way of maintaining the roads to the standards required nationally and under the Highway Improvement Programme contract.
“At the early stages of the contract, when the benefits of the unprecedented level of road improvement work were yet to be experienced, we did use specialist equipment to treat high volumes of potholes in an intense programme.
“This approach has now been superseded with a programme of work that focusses not so much on the short-term treating of potholes but on the long-term comprehensive resurfacing of the network with rebuilding, geotechnical and drainage schemes all part of our ongoing works programme.
“As a result there is much evidence that the number of potholes has declined rapidly over the years.”
They go on to say,
“There is still more to be done however and we will in the coming weeks announce another major highway refurbishment programme for 2019.
“As well as this resurfacing programme, we will also continue to meet our responsibilities of maintaining a safe network including rectifying road defects in line with the required time and quality standards.”
The find out more about the Road Mole, see the Website.
Article edit
18.10 Response from Island Roads added
