New material council is repairing potholes in Cornwall with

We receive a lot of communication from readers pointing them out and largely having a pop at Cornwall Council – either that they’re not repairing potholes quickly enough or the repairs aren’t good enough.

Well, I’m here to stick up for the council – we’ve just had some of the worst weather to have hit Cornwall in years. Goretti and co hammered us, exacerbating potholes and meaning workers from Cormac – the council’s highways company – have only been able to make temporary repairs as the roads have been so waterlogged.

There are changes afoot though, and in a rather innovative way.

I visited Bodmin this week – the junction of Midway Road and Bodinel View to be more precise – to witness a Cormac crew do a masterful job of repairing a huge swathe of road using a new material, Elastomac.

Cormac workers repairing one of Cornwall's many potholes.

A spokesperson for the council told me: “We’ve been trialling innovative new pothole repair techniques over the last 18 months to improve the durability of repairs, cut down on the environmental impact and provide better value to residents.

“Elastomac was a clear front-runner and we have trained our crews to carry out repairs using this technique – further cutting the cost to taxpayers by avoiding the need to subcontract this work.”

The substance is made from recycled aggregates, bitumen and used tyres, which is then poured straight into the pothole.

It makes for a longer lasting repair: the warm material bonds to the existing surface and waterproofs the surrounding area to stop water seeping in.

“As a result, potholes repairs are more robust, take less time to carry out and use fewer materials,” said the spokesperson.

“We’re also able to use it in a preventative way by reducing the formation of new or recurring potholes, by protecting the road surface around the pothole and on stretches of road where we have clusters of potholes.

“It is extremely resilient with a very low failure rate over an extended period of time. It can also lower the carbon footprint of traditional repairs by up to 85%.”

Cormac workers repairing one of Cornwall's many potholes. (Image: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)

It certainly made for an impressive job in Bodmin, where local councillor Dan Rogerson – who also happens to be the council’s Lib Dem cabinet member for transport – was keen to see the work.

I asked him about the criticism aimed at the council regarding the number of potholes across Cornwall this winter.

“It’s been really tough. We’ve had more than double the number of potholes reported this year compared to this time last year.

“We’ve had so much water in the roads it’s been really difficult. Not just because it’s been causing the potholes, but to get decent repairs like we’re seeing today done.

“The sky’s clear and that backlog of potholes is getting dealt with now. It will take a few weeks to get through it.

“A fortnight ago we were at over 5,000 on the list to be done and we’re about 3,700 two weeks later. Although more are getting reported, we’re now fixing more than are getting reported, so that backlog’s coming down.

“By the time we hit summer proper we will have caught up with that and then it’s about doing more of these bigger patches so we’re keeping the roads in a decent state ready for next winter.”

Readers have complained to us about temporary patch jobs on various roads across Cornwall, including in Fowey. Read more about that here: ‘Appalling’ road repairs are not our fault, says council

But there’s been a reason for those. “It’s been frustrating as it would have been good to have gone in there and done a permanent patch job, but while there has been so much water it’s been really hard to do,” explained Cllr Rogerson.

“In the meantime, you do have to make them safe. You can’t say we’ll leave it for four weeks until it’s dry, because a motorcyclist could have gone over that and come off their bike.

“You have to get them fixed to keep them safe. Inevitably, a lot of those fixes have been temporary ones.

“I think we can do better on communicating that to the public, so it’s really good that you’re here to talk about it today.”

Cormac workers repairing one of Cornwall's many potholes. Image: Lee Trewhela / LDRS (Image: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)

While there has been a lot of talk on social media about the state of Cornwall’s roads in recent weeks, our 7,000km of highway is a lot better than other areas of the country.

As someone who regularly drives my student daughters to Essex I can attest that the roads there are shocking – if you lived in Basildon, you’d think Bodmin’s Bodinel View is the yellow brick road.

Cllr Rogerson told me: “When the Government did its recent assessment, in terms of condition of roads we scored reasonably highly – people who are not out and about travelling out of Cornwall that much might find that hard to believe.

“I have to say we’ve borne the brunt of the weather, sticking out into the Atlantic. This winter we’ve had a battering more than some other places have, but generally our roads are in better nick than a lot of other places.

"But we’ve got to keep it that way, so we have to not just do these reactive repairs but more proactive stuff.

“We need to look at where the issues are and try and get ahead of it for next winter so the roads are in as good as state as we can do with the money we’ve got. We are given money from Government to do it, but it’s not enough to resurface all the roads we’ve got.”

Highways crews regularly inspect Cornwall’s roads to identify potential safety concerns and respond swiftly.

If a pothole is considered to be a significant hazard it will be treated by the end of the next working day.

Cllr Rogerson paid tribute to the Cormac crews. “We’re here on a day in the sunshine, but all throughout the winter they’re out not just on jobs like this but helping with the storm response. Cormac are very good at dealing with those things.

“We’re here in Bodmin today where I grew up and represent, but further west from here where Goretti hit really badly I think there’s some criticism of utilities companies and lessons to be learned, but what I’ve heard generally is that Cormac did a really good job and got there really quickly.

“I’m really grateful for the guys for what they do – it’s not an easy job and you can see today the quality of job they want to do when the weather and conditions allow them to do it.”