EXTRA funding and resources have been pledged to prioritise the eradication of potholes.

Hampshire County Council has promised to carry on doing all it can to respond to the higherthan- normal number of reports of potholes and other road defects it has had this year, due to the bad weather.

Seán Woodward, executive member for economy, transport and environment, said: “We know that the condition of Hampshire’s roads is a concern for residents and businesses, and the leader of the council has ensured that tackling potholes remains a top priority.

“We’ve been putting in more money, more manpower and making the most of specialist equipment in order to restore our roads. This approach is already having a positive impact in the worst-affected areas, which we have been specifically targeting, with reports of defects beginning to fall from the high levels at the beginning of the year.”

D u r i n g March, an extra £170,000 was redirected to respond to reports of roads defects while funding in this year’s highways budget has also been reprioritised to support works to restore the roads. This, combined with specific funding from central Government, means an additional investment of around £3million.

The county council’s highways maintenance contractor Amey has increased the number of gangs working to fix the roads and additional mobile hotboxes that carry hot material for permanent pothole repairs are being used along with two ‘Jetpatchers’.

Resources are being focused on safety defects and being targeted in the worst affected areas including enlisting reinforcements by trialling the Multihog in Andover and Romsey areas and the New Forest. The Multihog gives highways maintenance crews the ability to repair 200 square metres of road in just two hours as it can plane out, fill and finish a road surface as it travels.

Operation Resilience – which has a budget of £22million during 2013 and 2014 – is continuing.