Extra funds allocated to repair potholes

SOUTH Dublin County Council has allocated additional funds for pothole repairs around the county, according to a circular sent to councillors last week.

This follows on from an article in last week’s edition of The Echo, where Cllr Pamela Kearns (Lab) described roads around the county being “in tatters”.

In an email sent to councillors last Thursday evening, the council outlined its plan for dealing with the potholes.

It was noted that additional funding would be allocated to repair the damaged road surfaces, and the council hopes to see repairs at a number of locations in the next six to eight weeks.

Locations include the Belgard Road, Butterfield Avenue, the Tallaght Hospital roundabout, Foxborough and Balgaddy Road, Watery Lane, Monastery Road and Newcastle village.

causing the potholes, the council wrote: “Potholes are primarily caused by water ingress between the layers of the road structure and causing the binder to break down.

“During periods of cold [weather], the freeze/thaw action of the water accelerates this structure damage.

“The addition of salt residue from our winter maintenance operations further weakens bitumen and also increases road failure.

“For this reason, a small crack in the road surface that allows water enter can result in the formation of a large pothole within the space of a number of weeks.

“As roads get older the presence of small cracks becomes prevalent and that is why potholes are generally found in surfaces older than 10-12 years.

“A lot of the road surfaces in the county are around this age. Potholes are an annual issue in our roads and the springtime is when the issue is at its worst.

“Due to the start of this year being exceptionally wet and coupled with the age of our road surfaces we are seeing more potholes than normal particularly on roads with larger vehicles and faster speeds.”