More than 340 potholes have been reported across the Sydney metropolitan area in the past fortnight. Roads on the northern beaches were the worst hit,with 64 requests to fix potholes reported to council in the week of the storms,90 per cent of which were reported since the rain.
Hundreds of fresh potholes have appeared on Sydney’s road network in the past few weeks.Steven Siewert
The inner west reported 44 new potholes in just a few days,while both Hunters Hill and the Sutherland Shire received 35 reports each and the City of Sydney received 34. Canada Bay Council received 29 reports since the rain,Blacktown Council received 26 and Randwick Council got 21. Fairfield Council got 20 reports of the car-wrecking holes and Liverpool Council received 16.
The NRMA received an average of 3092 callouts for tyre and wheel problems related to potholes each day in the seven days after the storms began – 430 more than usual. An average of 150 people a day called the company with car problems from potholes in the Canterbury-Bankstown area in the week following the storm.
“The longer it takes for them to get crews out there,the bigger the potholes get and the greater damage to the vehicle,” the insurer’s spokesperson Peter Khoury said.
And experts have warned that more potholes will appear over the coming weeks,encouraging drivers to stay vigilant.
“There’ll absolutely be more to come,” Khoury said. “The reason for that is you get the heavy rains,but the roads deteriorate over time,and the more cars drive over them,the worse they get.”
The worst pothole reports received by councils since the rainfall:
The Hills Shire – which is bordered in two directions by the Hawkesbury River and experienced significant flooding – is expecting a major increase in the number of potholes to be discovered.
“The base of the roads need to dry out,” a council spokesperson said. “Until this happens,the flexible sealed road pavement will be subject to increased movement created by vehicle movements and axle loadings. When there is excess movement,the seal will crack and lift,resulting in potholing.”
Outside the East Village Shopping Centre at Zetland,in the City of Sydney,a pothole “half a metre wide” emerged.
It was reported to the council by walker Martin Begg,an Eastlakes resident who admits the council “probably think I’m a narc” because of his vigilant reporting of street issues via the Snap Send Solve app.
“This is not just a pothole,this is a major pothole,” he said. “[It] is probably half a metre wide,and about 50 centimetres deep.
“If someone[went over it] on a pushbike – I know there’s a lot of courier riders and food delivery people around – they’d just tip off straight away.”
The City of Sydney is yet to attend to the site,but a spokesperson said it was investigating each report.
A pothole forms when rain seeps into cracks in a road,reaching the soil beneath asphalt. Holes slowly grow and the soil disintegrates,resulting in large sections of broken asphalt.
Councils generally repair potholes temporarily with cold asphalt mix – it’s a quick fix but not as effective in the long term as hot asphalt – meaning some potholes return each time it rains.
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