JCB hopes new pothole machine will win fans at Highland Council after repair demonstration in Alness, Ross-shire
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
AN engineering giant is hoping its "revolutionary" new pothole repair machine will soon be helping to plug ruts on Highland roads – after it carried out a demonstration for Highland Council.
JCB's new PotholePro, which launched earlier this year, took to the streets of Alness this week to repair defects on a 300 square metre area of road.
It claims the device can repair a pothole in under eight minutes, at a rate far faster and half as costly as existing solutions.
And it is hoping its two-day demonstration in Alness – one of several showcase events it has held for UK local authorities – will win fans at Highland Council.
JCB PotholePro Product Specialist Paul Swallow said: “It’s been a hugely successful trial in the Highlands and I’m confident that everyone involved got to see just how effective the JCB PotholePro is at fixing potholes permanently and at half the cost of current solutions.
“Potholes are a huge concern for councils all over the country and one of the issues with repairs at the moment is that in most cases they are only short term fixes – and that’s where the JCB PotholePro differs.
“Just like when you have a filling, the dentist has to carefully remove all the decay so your tooth can be filled properly without recurrence of pain. It’s just the same with a pothole: it needs to be prepared properly before it is filled so the pothole doesn’t open up again within weeks. That’s exactly what the JCB PotholePro does; it cuts, crops and cleans the hole so a permanent repair can be carried out.”
The RAC recently revealed that calls out to damage caused by holes in the road was up 37 per cent since the same point in 2020 despite traffic levels plummeting due to lockdown measures.
AA figures estimate that more than £11bn worth of pothole repairs are currently needed across the UK.
JCB claims its new equipment can repair up to 250 square metres of potholes every day, and 700 potholes per month.
It added that it can also travel between sites at up to 40kph, ensuring it can swiftly move to other sites under its own power without the need for additional transport and associated costs.
The Alness demonstration was arranged through the council and JCB dealer Scot JCB.
Highland Council said it could not comment on the trial, as it was a demonstration and no commitment had been made.
