New 'hot box' to help with local pothole repair
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Local councillor Nicola Sinclair has issued an assurance that the council is doing all it can to repair roads in the county with the money available.
The statement comes following reports about a number of large potholes within Caithness which have not been helped by recent wintry weather conditions.
Referring to the criticism of the road conditions, councillor Sinclair said: "We are doing all we can with the funds we have available, and meet regularly with our roads team, who are doing a fantastic job in difficult times.
"We’re all painfully aware that the roads are in a terrible condition, as a result of years of under-investment and a very harsh winter causing surfaces to break up further.
"Our roads teams have worked incredibly hard to get the roads gritted over winter but are now turning their attention to the many repairs needing to be made. We have invested in a new ‘hot box’ which will allow for hot tar pothole repairs.
"It was deployed in Barrock last week, and the very deep holes highlighted by the public on the Gerston road are also being filled with hot tar. This does take a bit longer than cold tar but is worth the extra time as it’s a better quality repair."
At last month's meeting of the Thurso Community Council concern was expressed about huge potholes in and around the town causing a danger to drivers and pedestrians.
The issue was raised as freezing temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles continued to add further damage to road and pavement surfaces.
Councillor Sinclair added: "The budget never goes far enough but we do have an extra £20 million in Highland for capital spend on roads, plus an extra £2 million a year for revenue spend – that’s on top of the £1.9 million coming to Caithness annually in capital and revenue.
"Caithness gets roughly 12 per cent of the Highland Council roads budget. Picking up on some recent comments, it’s important to clarify that councillors can’t simply take funding provided for active travel, the airport or any other investment and redirect it to roads."
Related articles
- I could have a bath in that pothole, says Lieurary woman
- Pothole menace as concerns raised about state of streets in Thurso
