Potholes
Typically, bad weather causes potholes on our roads, and as a flood affected area, Maitland can sometimes experience a large amount of potholes and road defects.
If you see a pothole on a local road, please let us know.
How Council fixes potholes
How do we choose which potholes to fix?
After heavy rain, Maitland can often experience many potholes, and we must prioritise which ones we fix first. This is based on the volume of traffic, the whereabouts of the pothole on the road, and ultimately, which are most dangerous to the community.
Our road crews also fix other more minor and less risky potholes nearby when they fix higher risk ones to save time and money.
What’s our method for fixing potholes?
In an ideal world, we’d reseal or rehabilitate every road that experiences potholes, however, that unfortunately requires resources that we don’t have. This means we use either of two temporary methods:
- Cold patch
This is used when there’s been a lot of recent rain, as it helps to fix cracks in the surface. Although a hot mix is more effective and lasts longer than a cold patch, it won’t set properly if it’s raining and will also cost more money and maintenance. Once the rain stops, we will add further repairs, such as a hot mix. - Hot mix
This is used to repair significant potholes in dry weather. This method sees us excavate the pavement around the pothole before filling it and sealing it with hot asphalt. This method costs more upfront, but addresses the main problem that caused the pothole which ends up costing us less in the end.
Drainage issues
Wet weather can often cause problems to drainage systems in Maitland.
If you have seen or experienced a drainage issue, let us know.
Street cleaning
If there is debris, other foreign objects on a street, or there has been a spillage, let us know and we can quickly clean it up.
Road sign issues
If there are issues with road signs that you believe make it dangerous for the community, let us know and we can look into it.
Road maintenance
Council completes three (3) types of road maintenance as part of its Capital Works Program. This includes:
Reseal
Treatment that includes heavy patching works, minor shape corrections and bitumen seal.
Rehabilitation
Treatment involves adding gravel and additives before sealing the road.
Reconstruction
Takes place when a road has reached the end of its life and involves a complete rebuild of the base, and reseal.