Pothole repair machine trialled on Wagga Wagga roads

Published: 07 Mar 2024 12:43pm

Council has been trialling a JCB Pothole Pro machine on several roads across the city this week, to determine its suitability for Wagga Wagga’s extensive road network.

At its meeting in December last year, Council agreed to engage Roadworx Industries to wet-hire the Pothole Pro machine for a one-week demonstration as an evaluation of this machine against Councils current pothole filling and repair practices.

Director Infrastructure Services Warren Faulkner said it is part of Council’s focus on exploring different work methodologies and machinery that will properly repair potholes.

“The Pothole Pro is fundamentally a wheeled excavator with a profiling attachment on it, and a sweeper broom which sweeps the profiled road material into the bucket, and a jackhammer attachment which squares off the pothole,” Mr Faulkner said.

“The skid-steer loader we currently use as part of our pothole repair program also has a profiling attachment, a sweeper broom and a bucket, but the jackhammer is operated separately.

“This week’s trial provides us with a direct comparison on the effectiveness and efficiencies of the two types of machines and what additional plant and resources will still be required, such as traffic control, water carts, compactors, asphalt trucks, and manpower.”

The pothole repair demonstrations included sites on Tobruk Street and Vincent Road.

Council is also focusing on being more proactive on the management of our roads, applying preventative technologies and methodologies as it works on maintenance and rehabilitation.

“We are open to new ideas and technology, and I think we've demonstrated that with the recent rehabilitation of Cross, Johnston and Church streets, where we used geogrid technology for the first time,” Mr Faulkner said.

“We have also boosted our crack sealing program in the last 18 months, completing about $70,000 worth of crack sealing this financial year, in addition to $50,000 last financial year.

“Potholes occur because of a crack in the road. Funding is crucial to getting on top of crack sealing when they start to occur, and that has been the challenge for road authorities across Australia for decades.”

The data gathered from the Pothole Pro machine trial will form the basis of a report to go back to Council for consideration in the next two to three months.