Cumbrian demo success for JCB PotholePro
County Council says newly launched pothole fixing machine a great tool to have in armoury
JCB’s brand new PotholePro machine, which can repair a pothole in less than eight minutes, four times quicker than standard methods and at half the cost of current solutions, has taken part in three days of demonstrations in Cumbria.
The demonstrations culminated on Wednesday 31 March when the pothole fixing machine, which was launched by JCB earlier his year, fixed 56 potholes on the A66 in a single five-hour shift.
Councillor Keith Little, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: ‘Here in Cumbria, we have one of the biggest road networks in the UK to maintain, and as well as a population of half a million people, we welcome up to 19 million visitors a year to the county.
‘It’s essential, therefore, that we keep our road network safe, and the JCB PotholePro has demonstrated its ability to repair a pothole quickly and permanently, which makes it a great tool to have in your armoury when maintaining the roads.
‘The other massive benefit of the PotholePro is safety. For our employees, being in the cab of a machine is so much safer than being amongst the traffic.’
Cumbria County Council already runs a fleet of JCB machines, including backhoe loaders and Loadall telescopic handlers. The PotholePro demonstration was arranged through the council and JCB dealers Scot JCB.
Tests with local authorities and contractors show the JCB PotholePro can complete a pothole repair in less than eight minutes – equivalent to up to 250 square metres per day and 700 potholes per month.
The PotholePro allows the contractor or local authority to cut the defect, crop the edges and clean the hole with one machine – mechanizing the jobs traditionally done by pothole gangs and delivering up to a 50% cut in daily costs.
The machine is equipped with a 600mm wide planer with integrated dust-suppression system, a hydraulic cropping tool and a sweeper/bucket, allowing a uniform hole to be prepared by the operator from the comfort the cab.
Moreover, with its 40km/h travel speed, the machine can rapidly relocate between sites without additional transport costs.
