£2m for repairs to Staffordshire roads

Crews for Staffordshire County Council already tackle more than 400 potholes every week and the four Roadmasters - known as 'zapping machines' - are now helping to fix additional potholes and resurface 'hotspots' on stretches of road in one go.

It comes as Staffordshire has been awarded more than £4.5 million to fix 86,000 potholes in the county as part of a funding boost for authorities nationwide.

As part of £2.1 million extra investment, which needs to be spent by the summer, Staffordshire County Council has prioritised the work with the machines to get the maximum benefit for the county.

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The machines, being rented by the council, will be based in Gailey, Cannock, Stone and the Staffordshire Moorlands.

The machines carry a range of equipment meaning roads can be dug out and resurfaced in one process, rather than separate teams having to work over a longer period.

They can also seal the new surface so vehicles can drive over it straight away, reducing the need for road closures.

There are four stages to the work the machines can do, Dust and debris are cleared from the area to be patched using the high volume blower, and then bitumen emulsion is sprayed to seal the repair.

Bitumen and aggregate are combined and laid, and the repair is topped off with dry aggregate to allow immediate traffic on the new surface.

Transport chief Councillor Mark Deaville said the funding is helping the highways crews tackle extra repairs and surfacing projects.

He said: "We know an effective and well maintained road network in Staffordshire is important to both residents and to bringing jobs and prosperity to the county.

"This extra investment is of course welcome and is currently helping us draft in more machines to roll out further improvements to our roads.

"As a county council, we have already seen the condition of our roads improve following an extra £50 million funding and the challenge now is to focus more on the long-term improvement of roads to help ensure potholes occur less frequently."

The Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin announced the extra £140 million back in February - with just under £40 million earmarked for flood-hit areas and the rest being shared by other local authorities.

Staffordshire was awarded £2.1 million which needs to be invested in the county's highways by August.