Lincolnshire retrials JCB ‘Pothole Pro’ in bid to fix crumbling roads

A high-tech pothole-digging machine is being put through its paces on Lincolnshire’s roads.

The JCB Pothole Pro is back in the county for a new year-long trial, after a previous test in 2021 found it wasn’t cost-effective. This time, Lincolnshire County Council wants to see whether it could work better on larger patches of road in need of repair.

Senior Highways Officer Bethany Smith says they are approaching this trial differently.

"This time round, we're going for bigger patches, 10 to 30 square meters, and we're trying to get moving around the county on a week by week basis.

"We also can move it ourselves. Now we have a low loader."

The machine is designed to act as an “all in one” repair crew - cutting neat holes, clearing them out and leaving them ready for asphalt. JCB claims it can fix potholes four times faster and at half the cost of traditional methods.

The Pothole Pro has already been used in other parts of the country, from rural Scotland to busy city streets. In Lincolnshire there are over 100,000 potholes in need of repair.

Council leader Sean Matthews (Reform) said the state of local roads meant new ideas had to be tested, "We need to get the pot holes fixed, and this may be the answer. It may not. I don't know, but we're going to give it a good try."

Crews are also expected to become more efficient as they gain experience with the vehicle.

JCB’s General Manager, Ben Rawding, said the machine could slash the average cost of a pothole repair from £60 to £30. He added: “It makes permanent repairs that won’t need to be revisited.”

The trial will last up to 12 months, but could be cut short or extended depending on the results.