Oxfordshire increasing number of crews repairing potholes following cold snap

Additional teams and resources are being made available to repair potholes on Oxfordshire’s roads following a rise in reports of defects due to recent wet and freezing conditions.

Oxfordshire County Council and its principal highways contractor M Group are more than doubling the number of repair crews from seven to at least 16 to reduce a backlog of potholes caused by the weather.

Heavy rainfall and then colder weather from mid-December into January created a cycle of freezing and thawing – perfect conditions for creating new potholes.

The council aims to repair potholes within two hours, 24 hours or 28 days, depending on how big a risk they pose. About 875 of the 28 day jobs – around 35 per cent of the total – missed their deadlines by a few days because of the rise in reports at the beginning of January and other priority issues.

Crews have also faced many larger potholes, requiring substantial repair methods which – although producing high quality results – are more labour intensive and time consuming and reduce the number of defects that can be fixed in a day.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “It has been a difficult winter, but we are actively looking to improve the situation on our roads by making more resources available to repair potholes as quickly as possible.

“Our highways teams work very hard in all weathers and conditions to maintain the 3,000 miles of road for which we are responsible. We know how important the condition of our highways is for our residents, which is why we are taking positive action.”

Repair methods include two-person gangs cutting out and replacing the defective carriageway; a Dragon Patcher machine, which seals repairs with stone chippings and hot bitumen emulsion; and Bobcat machines, which can remove large areas of damaged road surface in minutes.

To reduce the number of outstanding repairs, the council and M Group are employing more sub-contractors, redirecting the Dragon Patcher to tackle safety defects full time, retaining the Bobcat crews for defect repairs rather than scheduled maintenance, and redeploying crews to where they are most needed.

More than 41,000 highways defects were reported to the council in the last 12 months, around 90 per cent of which were potholes. About a quarter of these were reported by members of the public through the council’s Fix My Street portal, with the rest logged during its own highway inspections.

Crews are also empowered to repair additional issues, which they spot while carrying out their instructions.

To ensure quality and consistency, 20 per cent of completed repairs are inspected to assess the completeness and workmanship.

The vast majority (97 per cent) of Oxfordshire’s pothole repairs are now cut square, joint sealed filled and compacted, to undertake a permanent fix first time. Contractors filled 37,042 potholes in 2024 - 25.

Members of the public are encouraged to report potholes using www.fixmystreet.com, preferably with photographs if it is safe to take one. Fix My Street reports are generally investigated within 10 days of being raised.

People can also log on to Oxfordshire County Council’s website oxfordshire.gov.uk to report potholes.

While reactive highway work is vital, particularly for potholes that cause an immediate danger, the council’s emphasis is on maintenance work to prevent potholes forming in the first place, which is much more cost-effective than repairing them afterwards.

It has invested nearly £14.5 million since 2024 on its largest surface dressing programmes for at least 20 years, treating around two million square metres of carriageway.

Richard Lovewell, M Group Business Director, said: “We’re working closely with Oxfordshire County Council to respond to the leap in pothole reports over recent weeks. We’ve brought in additional resource and are currently working to bring in even more gangs whilst proposing initiatives including Bobcat and Dragon Patcher repairs.

“Potholes are frustrating for us all, but please remember the crews working hard to repair our roads at all hours and in all conditions should be treated with respect.”

In recent years there has been a rise in reported incidents of abuse and threatening behaviour, including filming operatives as they work to post on social media, with a minority of motorists or residents taking their frustration out on roadworkers over delays as improvements are made to the network.