Pothole crisis worsens after big thaw

The holes can potentially seriously damage cars, but the heavy snow has meant that deep ones have appeared in busy roads, as well as quiet residential ones, meaning that drivers are having to avoid the hazards wherever they go.
Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) has pledged to make £2m available to repair the damage as quickly as possible, as the extent of the situation has hit home.
County leader David Shakespeare said: "Exceptional times call for exceptional measures, and this is such a time, so I will be transferring £2 million from our reserves so we can get our roads fit for purpose as soon as possible.
"We are in a position to act quickly because we have been prudent in maintaining a good level of reserves, which we can call upon in times of need.
"These repairs must be carried out as a matter of urgency. The longer we wait, the worse potholes will become. It is imperative that we get these repairs under way as quickly as possible.
"Six extra highways maintenance gangs were drafted in earlier in January, bringing the total to 15 gangs out on the roads, repairing 25 -30 potholes a day. That's around 2000 potholes repaired per week across the county. This extra money will enable us to increase both the quantity and quality of these repairs."
However, many motorists have already suffered because of the problem.
Andrew Jackson, 27, of Chartridge Lane, Chesham, said: "It's 2010 and we live in one of the richest areas of one of the richest countries on the planet - so why are we having to drive on Third World quality roads?
"Bucks has noticeably worse roads than any surrounding county and Bucks County Council's policy of just temporarily patching up potholes instead of fixing them properly has to stop.
"The potholes, in addition to their stupid idea of switching off the street lights to save money, is a very dangerous combination and an accident waiting to happen. However much they're spending on the roads, it's not enough."

Potholes are formed in the following way -

1)As tarmac becomes older, it becomes more porous, meaning that rainwater gets into cracks caused by traffic constantly driving over it.
2)When there is a spell of cold weather, water in the cracks freezes and expands, causing more cracks to form in the tarmac. The tarmac is then pushed outwards like a bubble.
3)When the ice eventually thaws, as it has done over the past week, gaps are created under the tarmac's surface, and these get larger during each freeze-thaw cycle.
4)Traffic driving over the tarmac then causes it to collapse and form a pothole, which gets larger as more traffic drives over it.