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Sunshine and dry weather has helped Council reduce its pothole backlog with more than 8,000 potholes filled following the July flood events.

Mayor Ryan Palmer said that the weather events this year have had a huge impact on our roads with more than 900 potholes waiting for repair.

“We know that the repair and maintenance of our roads is one of the biggest priorities for our community and the most recent damage to our roads has impacted residents, business and visitors alike," Mayor Palmer said.

“Council has a road network that covers more than 800kms. Our teams are out fixing potholes as quickly as they can but it’s been a huge task," he added.

Facilities and Services Group Manager Greg Kable said potholes occur due to a number of reasons.  

Many of our roads were designed decades ago, on old infrastructure in low lying locations where water takes a long time to dry out. Water gets under the road pavement or through cracks in the surface and without very much effort at all, the road opens up and creates potholes.

“The more rain, the more water and the more potholes we get. We usually only have 50 potholes outstanding to fill, but it's increased 10 fold with all the rain,” Mr Kable said.

Mayor Ryan Palmer said Council is excited to launch a series of educational videos, answering some key FAQs to help the community understand how we build and maintain roads and manage our potholes in Port Stephens.

“The information outlines what roads Council is responsible for, how we determine which road we repair next and our process for pothole repairs,” Mayor Palmer said.

“The videos found on Council’s website explain the difference between a wet seal and dry seal, why we often have to repair the same pothole more than once and why we rehabilitate roads that look like they don't need it,” he added.

The educational video series and information can be found on Council website at portstephens.nsw.gov.au/road-maintenance.