‘Worst road’ in Welsh county repaired within days

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

A road labelled the “worst” in a Welsh county by locals because of its massive potholes has been repaired within days of a complaint by a local councillor.

A section of the road connecting Mold with the village of Gwernaffield was littered with potholes across both carriageways.

The deteriorating road surface was so poor that former councillor Rob Challinor claimed it caused damage to his wife’s car, prompting it to be dubbed the “worst road in Flintshire”.

However, Flintshire’s Streetscene team has now repaired the road.

“The damaged road was repaired within a week of the incident,” said Rob. “It was appalling that the council had left the road to deteriorate in such poor condition.

“What is worrying to me is that section of road was not highlighted on the council’s priority list for repair.  I was absolutely fuming the day after the incident when I went out and and looked at the state of that road.”

Flintshire County Council’s Chief Officer for Streetscene and Transportation, Katie Wilby, explained that the section had been scheduled for repair work prior to the incident, but warned that ongoing financial constraints meant the county’s road network would continue to deteriorate.

“This section of Gwernaffield Road had already been inspected and identified as requiring repair, prior to the press article being published,” she said.

“The work had been programmed in advance and was scheduled to be carried out on February 5.

“The council prioritises defects based on safety, condition and available resources. However we face ongoing challenges in managing ad-hoc road repairs across Flintshire as the highway network is extensive and defects can develop rapidly due to weather conditions, traffic volumes and the age of the infrastructure.”

On the council’s strategy for tackling road repairs, Wilby continued: “While we aim to publish a list of planned resurfacing schemes this does not capture every location where defects may arise, or where targeted repairs become necessary following inspections.

“Many repairs are therefore identified and prioritised through routine safety inspections and reports from the public rather than long-term resurfacing programmes.

“Streetscene continues to monitor the condition of the network and prioritise works to address safety concerns while making best use of limited budgets and resources.

“It needs to be recognised that the condition of the highway network will naturally continue to deteriorate each year and, without sufficient annual investment, the overall condition of the network will continue to decline.”