The English city Stoke-on-Trent claims it has completed almost three years of repairs in just over four months with JCB’s PotholePro machine.
The city council’s highways team has repaired 10,000m² of road with the JCB PotholePro in only 130 days – an area equivalent to eight Olympic sized swimming pools. Using traditional methods, this task would have taken a staggering 1,040 days or almost three years.
The council became the first in the UK to invest in the PotholePro last year, having trialled the technology in the months before. Other authorities across the UK are now following suit and investing in the machine, notes JCB.
“It’s proving so effective across the city that councillors and residents are actively asking for the PotholePro when a highway network issue arises,” said Daniel Jellyman, the city’s cabinet member for infrastructure. “The JCB PotholePro delivers a consistent and permanent repair in a fraction of the time. We are also able to deploy it on a multitude of other tasks and this delivers huge rewards in terms of time saved.”
How it works
CUT - From the cab, the operator can easily adjust the 600mm-wide planer and integrated dust suppression system, which enables the operator to plane a full carriageway from the kerb, without repositioning. It is designed to plane through a multitude of surfaces, including up to 170mm in hot road asphalt.
CROP - The machine also comes with a sweeper/bucket and hydraulic cropping tool, allowing a uniform hole to be prepared by the operator from the comfort of the cab. This eliminates the need for jack hammers or circular saws thereby improving safety and maximising performance.
CLEAN - The 1,200mm-wide sweeper collector with dust suppression enables the operator to prepare the pothole in a matter of minutes. Milled up planings can then be dumped into a support vehicle for recycling.
To watch a demonstration of the PotholePro, click here.