Repairing potholes
Published on 12 May 2021
Two of the things we most regularly receive enquiries and feedback about from residents are potholes and street lights. Council has a full time maintenance crew that fixes potholes when reported or when spotted.
We have almost 16,000 street lights across our City and spend $3 million a year on lighting and working with Endeavour Energy to ensure the lights are maintained.
We have about 700km of local roads in our City. The heavy rain in March caused four times more potholes to form than usual, and we had to invest more than double the amount of work hours to quickly fix potholes to keep our roads safe to drive on.
Council anticipates this and prioritises road maintenance resources immediately after rain to fill potholes, and apply a more permanent fix as soon as possible afterwards. Heavy rain always leads to more potholes forming.
Normal ageing over many years will eventually weaken road pavement and this allows small cracks to form, which lets moisture get under the road surface. The moisture weakens these cracked spots faster. As traffic passes, these spots break apart or sink, leading to potholes.
As well as fixing potholes when they form, Council also takes cost-effective pre-emptive steps to keep moisture out to make roads last longer. One step is crack sealing, which are the shiny black squiggly lines you sometimes see on the road. Crack sealing is thousands of times cheaper than replacing the road, and makes it last longer.
Clearing roadside stormwater pits, keeping kerb and guttering in good condition and sweeping debris from roadside gutters also keeps our roads free of water damage and safe for residents driving around our City.
Council identifies potholes through a mix of community feedback, inspections and proactive patrols. I encourage you to help us keep your roads in good condition by reporting any pothole you see. Council will respond and make repairs to potholes within 24 to 48 hours.
Residents can report potholes to Council by phoning 9725 0222 or on our website www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/Report-It. If you see a street light not working, call 133 718 or visit www.endeavourenergy.com.au to report it.