There’s been New Year misery for hundreds of drivers as thousands of potholes cause misery across the Sussex road network.
Snow, rain and a rapid thaw have seen potholes open up to the elements and have caused countless punctures and suspension damage.
East Sussex Highways currently has 2,400 defects reported in the system across the county, 1,800 of which are potholes. This figure is 1,000 over normal operating levels.
Highways customer contacts have risen from 4.500 in December 2021 to around 8,000 this last December.
In Ninfield, our editor counted nine vehicles with punctures parked up next to a massive ‘trench’ on the A267 Ninfield Road on New Year’s Eve (main image above). The series of potholes which look to have been filled-in recently, opened back up causing damage to many vehicles over the weekend.
Hailsham also has its problems as many motorists reported incidents on Hempstead Lane, London Road and Hawks Road over the last few days.
East Sussex County Councillor, Gerard Fox, said: “The volatile winter weather has taken an inevitable and severe toll on our road network. First, torrential rain in November (the wettest on record), freezing conditions in early December (one of the coldest divergences in north west European temperatures versus the 30 year average ), rapid thaw, followed by further torrential rain and flooding. Over 100mm of rain fell locally in December.”
He added: “Since being re-elected in May 2021, your Conservative-run County Council has raised the 10 year road maintenance budget by 15% (£31 million) and invested an extra £5.8 million in road patching, pavements, and safety. But nothing can deal instantaneously with what we have recently seen.”
“We’ve increased resources to deal with defects and potholes by 150%, with Highways teams and stewards working overtime and extended hours, including weekends, to inspect and process cases, prioritise and action works. We’ve deployed additional resources to deal with drainage and flooding problems, which are the second highest category of reports, covering 24 hours a day. We have 1,500 tonnes of additional salt on order and are continuing to refill gritting bins.”
Residents are being urged to continue to report potholes to East Sussex Highways on its website to ensure a repair is made ASAP.
