Millions of pounds have been ploughed into fixing potholes across Suffolk over a six month period – but some drivers said the county still “looks like a patchwork cushion”.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request, submitted to Suffolk County Council by the BBC, revealed £4,433,080 was spent on repairs from October last year to this April.
Data also showed that between 1 May 2023 and 30 April 2024, engineers fixed a total of 21,576 potholes across the county following 19,412 reports - 1,241 were in Ipswich which was the most potholed-riddled area.
The BBC obtained the figures after Suffolk County Council kick-started its “largest ever resurfacing project”. Suffolk Highways said conditions had improved since 2012.
'I thought I had run over a deer'
Despite the repairs, Drive Bug instructor, Jeff Tuck, 64, from Lowestoft, said: “There are potholes everywhere you go, it is phenomenal.
“There is one particular road which we call Pothole City.
“Once I was driving home and there was this big bang. I literally thought I’d run over a deer.
“I realised it was a big pothole which had literally burst my tyre. It cost me £82 to replace.”
Dave Donovan, 56, is an Ipswich motorist whose wife Claire, 55, is a driving instructor for Donovan Driving School.
He said: “You might see a pothole repair but sometimes they are just a sticking plaster.
“My wife Claire hit a pothole which ended up in a puncture.
She got the AA out and they told her she was the 12th call they had had because of that pothole."
'Little blob here, little blob there'
Mark Ritchie, of East Coast Tuition, said potholes , externalin Suffolk had resulted in his vehicle suffering several “blow-outs” since the turn of the year.
“It is not nice seeing people comparing Beccles Road with the moon surface. It has become a joke,” added the 51-year-old.
“Lowestoft looks like a patchwork cushion at the moment. Someone has just put a little blob here and a little blob there.
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“If a private enterprise was involved they would say ‘right, do the job, and if it’s not up to scratch you are getting sued’.
“Then you can guarantee [the roads] would be permanently looked after.”
John Clements, assistant director of highways services at Suffolk Highways, defended the condition of the county’s roads.
He said: “I think a lot of the road network here in Suffolk is in relatively good condition and only 2% of Suffolk’s A-roads are actually in poor condition.
“Back in 2012, that figure was 4%, so the overall condition of the roads in Suffolk has improved in that time.
“We have 4,270 miles of road in Suffolk and if you put that back to back you’d be able to drive to Barbados.
“We need to spend about £52m to give residents roads which would rarely have potholes on them but we just don’t get enough money.”
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