JCB Pothole Machine Demonstrated In Action For The First Time

JCB’s pothole fixing machine had a successful demonstration in Cumbria, fixing 56 potholes in a single five-hour shift.

The PotholePro, a portable multipurpose pothole fixing tool, completed the monumental task four times quicker than traditional pothole filling methods, with an average time of fewer than eight minutes, according to JCB themselves.

The demonstration, organised by Cumbria County Council and Scot JCB, was a showcase of the new tool, which allows for one machine, run by an operator wearing JCB work clothes, to cut a road defect, crop its edges and clean the hole ready to apply the new layer of tarmac.

Previous methods involved a five-man repair gang that used hand devices and compressors to fit the new road surface together, which requires more time and significantly more manpower.

Potholes are a growing problem on British roads, as large parts of the transport infrastructure aged beyond their planned end-of-life period and are used significantly more than was expected by their designers.

This, along with poor repairs, rain and the freeze-thaw cycles, can lead to potholes, an indentation in the road surface where traffic breaks and removes broken parts of a pavement.

Left unfixed, potholes can spread and get deeper, which can cause damage to car suspensions, wheels and tyres. They are also the direct concerns of serious road accidents, which is the reason why potholes should be fixed as soon as possible.

If further tests show the PotholePro to be a cost-effective and efficient solution to pothole issues, then this could lead to an influx of orders to help “level up” Britain’s roads.