Fixing Roads, One Pothole at a Time: Why the JCB Pothole Pro Shines on National Pothole Day

Posted On 14 January 2025

National Pothole Day is an annual reminder of the difficulties faced by poorly maintained roads and the urgent need for efficient solutions. From disrupted transportation to costly vehicle repairs, potholes impact many industries all over the UK.

Enter the JCB Pothole Pro—a game-changing machine designed to tackle potholes efficiently and transform road maintenance.

The Growing Pothole Problem in the UK

According to the RAC, 7,904 breakdowns caused by bad road surfaces were recorded in Q1 2024, a staggering 53% increase from late 2023. This statistic underscores the urgent need for innovative road repair solutions like the JCB Pothole Pro.

Councillor Dianne Anderson of Midlothian Council stated, “They [JCB Pothole Pros] are so important to keeping our roads safe.”

The Impact of Potholes: Everyday Life vs. Construction Industry

Everyday Life

· Safety Risks: Potholes create dangerous driving conditions, increasing the likelihood of accidents.

· Costly Repairs: Pothole damage leads to frequent and expensive vehicle repairs.

· Infrastructure Decay: Unaddressed potholes accelerate road deterioration, raising long-term repair costs.

Construction Industry

· Maintenance Demands: Contractors face growing backlogs of road repairs, straining resources.

· Rising Costs: Additional materials and labour inflate budgets.

· Delays: Poor road conditions disrupt material deliveries and construction timelines.

The JCB Pothole Pro: The Future of Efficient Road Repairs

The JCB Pothole Pro is not just a machine, it’s a revolution in road maintenance. Manufactured to repair potholes by preparing the area of road for reinstatement in three simple steps.

1. Cut – the 600mm wide, side shifting planer can be easily adjusted from the cab to work alongside the curb to level out the road beside the pothole.

2. Crop – the Pothole Pro’s 360-degree tilt rotator allows the operator to crop around any obstacle such as ironworks right from their seat. This immediately eliminates the need for handled tools.

3. Clean – the 1200mm wide sweeper with dust suppression collects dump chipping with ease with bucket or brush mode.

Key Benefits of the JCB Pothole Pro

Versatility

The JCB Pothole Pro combines the work of three separate tasks into one machine reducing the need for additional equipment and labour.

Wayne Clark, Midlothian Transportation Manager agreed with this as from an operator’s point of view he stated, “it takes the manual work out of the process in terms of all the heavy lifting and the hand-arm vibration.”

This machine can also be fitted with an array of attachments to execute tasks such as ditching and hedge trimming and can be fitted with forks or buckets.

Speed and Efficiency

The JCB Pothole Pro can reconstruct a pothole in 8 minutes, which is four times quicker than traditional methods, decreasing the time roads are closed and minimising disruption for road users.

All three stages of a pothole repair with this machine provide accurate cutting and planning, ensuring smooth and long-lasting repairs, and reducing the risk of further decay.

Safety

The JCB Pothole Pro is specifically manufactured to work safely and efficiently in congested urban areas. Main features such as the 600mm wide planer and dust suppression system enable operators to complete a pothole repair without repositioning the machine, protecting both vehicles and pedestrians.

The JCB Pothole Pro’s high seating provides operators with unobstructed 360-degree visibility to all four wheels.

Specifications of the JCB Pothole Pro

· Daily Capacity: 250m²

· Repair Time per Pothole: 8 minutes

· Cost per m²: £29.28

· Planer Width: 600mm

· Sweeper Width: 1200mm

· Travel Speed: 40kph

JCB Pothole Pro Delivers for Midlothian Council

Transportation Manager for Midlothian, Wayne Clark, and Councillor Dianne Anderson, Midlothian Council, recently reviewed their experience with the JCB Pothole Pro and the impact the machine has had on their area.

Wayne opened with, “When we took delivery of the Pothole Pro we set a target of a thousand pothole repairs within the first six months, we hit that target within three months!”, followed by Dianne who added, “The speed at which we are getting through the potholes, it’s nothing that we’ve seen in the past.”

Over the period in which Midlothian Council have been operating the JCB Pothole Pro, Dianne emphasised that the impact on their roads has been huge, explaining, “the complaints that I’m now getting are why is the Pothole Pro not in my street?”.

One of the main benefits Wayne highlighted was the versatility of the JCB Pothole Pro. Midlothian is a rural county, it has many unclassified narrow roads, sometimes down to three or four metres, so the machine’s high visibility and 4-wheel steer is perfect for this. Wayne added, “When we have our roads blocked by trees coming down during storms, the Pothole Pro can get there and clear the road very quickly.”

Wayne’s only piece of criticism, if that they don’t have two, and Dianne would “Absolutely recommend the Pothole Pro to other councils in the UK.”