With continuing reports of crater-sized potholes all over the Central Coast, one Saratoga resident has decided to take matters into his own hands.
Fed up with multiple potholes along Steyne Rd, Michael Strong has filled the largest of them with road base provided by Kincumber Sand & Soil.
“I understand Council has a large area to cover, but I have made repeated complaints,” he said.
“I get the standard response saying Council regularly inspects roads for damage and Steyne Rd has been put on priority.
“But with these latest potholes continuing to pose a risk for two-three months now the situation was ludicrous.”
Strong bought half a tonne of road base from Kincumber Sand & Soil to begin the repair work, with the company generously donating a further half a tonne.
A Central Coast resident for the past 20 years, Strong moved to Saratoga seven years ago and said potholes had been a constant problem over that time, growing increasingly worse.
“Even when Council does do repairs, all they do is dump hot mix into a hole and then sprinkle it with sand,” he said.
“Anyone can dump hot mix into a hole.
“It needs to be properly tamped down – because they don’t compact it into the hole it washes out as soon as it rains.”
A Facebook post by Strong on October 7 had attracted more than 100 messages of thanks and support within 24 hours.
“I didn’t want a pat on the back, but I was blown away by the number of responses showing how many people have the same concerns,” he said.
“Cars driving along Steyne Rd from the waterfront are forced to swerve onto the wrong side of the road to avoid these large potholes, creating the very real danger of a collision with vehicles coming the other way.”
The problem is exacerbated by the number of S bends along Steyne Rd, he said.
“I was sick of my car constantly hitting potholes, so I just went out and did something about it,” Strong said.
“The road base might not stay there that long with more rain on the way but I had to do something.
“I know it’s not a permanent solution but it might stop damage to some people’s cars.”
Strong picked up the road base in his own trailer and did the patch-up work himself.
Of the 100+ comments on his Facebook post, only one expressed concern that the temporary fix might throw gravel up and impact windshields.
But Strong said as long as people drove at a sensible speed over the repaired potholes there was little chance of gravel flying up.
Most comments applauded Strong’s initiative and echoed his concerns that someone would eventually get hurt with cars swerving to avoid the potholes.
A spokesperson said Council is responsible for over 2,000km of road network and is committed to maintaining and improving roads across the entire Central Coast Region.
“Council’s Infrastructure Assessment and Road Maintenance staff are routinely inspecting the road network and associated infrastructure with any defects identified scheduled for repairs in accordance with our current service levels and on a priority risk basis,” the spokesperson said.
Council acknowledged there had been an influx of potholes as a result of intense rainfalls and storm events earlier this year, but said it has allocated additional resources to carry out road pavement inspections and repairs to ensure the road network is fit for purpose.
“Pothole repairs in Steyne Rd have been undertaken during April, June and July this year with further pothole repairs scheduled for Friday, October 14, weather permitting” the spokesperson said.
“Council does not encourage residents to enter the roadway and carry out any type of repairs, including placing road base in potholes, due to safety concerns.
“The placement of road base could also result in additional safety concerns for road users, such as cyclists, as the loose material is easily washed out.
“Residents and community members are encouraged to report any potholes to Council by visiting Council’s online customer service portal at https://www.centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/council/contact/online-services
“Reporting potholes ensures that repairs are scheduled in Council’s Maintenance Management System and undertaken on a priority risk basis.”
Keep up to date on Council’s progress in repairing roads via centralcoast.nsw.gov.au and Council’s Facebook page.
Terry Collins
I’ve done the same at my place. A little bit of crusher dust and cement dust mixed into the road base makes it much more resistant to downpours.
It might have been better if the council had resurfaced the road itself rather than just continually fixing potholes waste of taxpayers monies considering the time and effort and manpower to just fix a pothole for it to b washed out once it has rained again and then having to fix it again. Pothole fixers are only a bandaid.