BRISBANE City Council has launched its biggest-ever pothole repair blitz, with crews filling more than 1800 potholes in just five days following recent wet weather across the city, including Brisbane’s Bayside suburbs.
The Schrinner Council’s “Big Fill” campaign saw crews working around the clock from May 19-23, with a record 565 potholes repaired in a single day on May 21.
Brisbane City Council said the blitz resulted in a pothole being filled every two minutes during the peak operation, with residents across suburbs including Wynnum, Manly, Lota and surrounding Bayside areas urged to continue reporting road damage.
About 100 tonnes of asphalt were used during the citywide operation, adding to the 47,645 potholes already repaired by the end of April this year.
Heavy rain on May 18 and 19 opened fresh potholes across Brisbane’s 5700km road network, prompting the Council to ramp up repairs.
Before the recent blitz, crews were repairing an average of 157 potholes a day across the city.
The Council said more than 1134 potholes were reported by residents during the campaign, helping repair crews respond faster to damaged roads.
While the campaign was citywide, Brisbane City Council said Bayside suburbs accounted for 246 pothole repairs during the peak “Big Fill” period from May 19-23.
Wynnum West recorded the highest number of potholes filled with 84 repairs, followed by Gumdale with 67 and Murarrie with 32.
Other suburbs included Wakerley and Ransome with 13 repairs each, Chandler with 12, Wynnum with nine, Hemmant with seven, Manly with five and Manly West with four.
Council also received 93 customer reports from Bayside residents during the blitz.
Murarrie generated the highest number of contacts with 20, followed by Tingalpa with 14, Hemmant with 10, Wakerley with nine, Wynnum West with eight, Manly West with seven, Chandler and Wynnum with six each, Lytton and Manly with four each, Gumdale with three and Lota and Ransome with one each.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the citywide effort had smashed previous repair records.
“The ‘Big Fill’ went full throttle, smashing through a record number of pothole repairs in just a matter of days,” he said.
“Brisbane residents became our eyes on the road, and every report helped crews track down and fill potholes faster.
“When heavy rain punches holes in our roads, our crews don’t sit around waiting for the sun to come out, they get out there and get the job done to keep Brisbane moving.
“No hole will go unfilled.”
But opposition leader Jared Cassidy said the figures highlighted the poor state of Brisbane’s roads.
“Brisbane’s LNP Council wants a pat on the back for doing their job. Next we’ll be announcing books borrowed from the library,” Cr Cassidy said.
“What these numbers show is that right across Brisbane, our roads are atrocious.
“Commuters on private and public transport know it.
“We need a proactive plan to fixing Brisbane’s roads that doesn’t involve cutting hundreds of millions from the Materials and Services budget.”
Residents can report problem potholes by calling Brisbane City Council on 3403 8888 or lodging a request through the Council website.
