Road repairs on-going across Swansea

Road repair works are on-going across Swansea as the council catches up with damage caused by the relentlessly wet weather of late. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Transport bosses at the council are reassuring motorists that potholes and other road defects are being logged and fixed on a priority basis to help keep the city moving. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

During times of particularly heavy rain, the road repair teams are also tasked with other work, including the unblocking of culverts and drains, to help protect communities from flooding. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Weather permitting, more than 500 potholes and road defects are attended to every month. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Figures show the council fixed 9,997 potholes and other road defects in 2015. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr David Hopkins, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation, said: “I’m sure Swansea residents will agree that the spell of persistently wet weather we’ve had since the start of November has been among the worst in living memory. These conditions, as well as the huge amounts of traffic nowadays, don’t just have an impact on the condition of our roads. They also make it far more difficult to carry out repairs. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Swansea is far from alone in experiencing these issues – it’s the same across the rest of the UK, too. But people here can be assured that we’re still doing all we can to log and address road defects on a priority basis and that any emergencies will be fixed within 24 hours. We’ll also be able to catch up on repairing damage when we get a period of dry weather and our PATCH team will be returning to communities across Swansea from April to the end of the year.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The work of the PATCH team (Priority Action for Community Highways) will boost the work of the council’s other road repair teams. The PATCH team spends an intensive week in all 32 of the city’s electoral wards every year, attending to potholes and other road defects. Communities the team will visit in April include St Thomas, Bonymaen and the city centre. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

People who see road damage in Swansea on their travels are asked to report it either online at www.swansea.gov.uk/highwayproblems or by calling 0800 132081. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We do all we can but we can’t be everywhere at once,” said Cllr Hopkins. “Residents may often see road damage before we do, so we’d encourage them to report it so it can be logged for repair on a priority basis.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​