To report a pothole on our roads you can use the online reporting form or you can call our contact centre on 01546 605514. You will be issued with a reference number for future correspondence.
Report a road or lighting fault
Trunk Roads
Bear Scotland manage the Trunk Roads in Argyll and Bute on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Trunk Roads within Argyll and Bute include the A82, A83, A85, A828
To report problems on Trunk Roads, you can contact Bear Scotland on 0800 028 1414 or on their website www.bearscot.com
Causes
Potholes are caused when water enters tiny cracks in the road, which are usually caused by traffic. When this water freezes it expands - widening the cracks. When it melts, and traffic passes over the top it causes the road surface to deteriorate.
What is a pothole?
A pothole is a hole in the road that is deeper than 40mm and wider than 150mm. However these measurements can vary depending on the road .
What happens after you report a pothole?
When a pothole is reported it is logged on our system and passed to the relevant officer for inspection. It is then categorised by priority and logged for repair. Some potholes are fixed immediately if they pose a risk to public safety whilst others will be repaired as part of a programmed maintenance.
Repair times
The size and location of the pothole and the risk to public safety will determine the length of time that it takes for the pothole to be repaired.
- Category 1 potholes that represent a high risk to road users should be corrected or made safe, using cones / warning signs at the time of inspection. If it is not possible to make safe at the time of inspection an emergency repair to make safe should be done within 36 hours.
- Category 2 potholes representing a medium risk should be repaired within 7 days.
- Category 3 that represent a low risk to road users should be repaired within 30 working days.
- Category 4 condition to be monitored and reviewed based on an assessment of the risk of deterioration at next inspection
How are they fixed?
- Emergency Repair – repaired with minimal disruption until it can be repaired as part of other programmed work.
- Permanent Repair – the area for repair is removed and then re-filled and compacted with new bitumen.
- Roadmaster – faster than traditional methods and particularly good in rural areas. It blows away the water and debris, primes the area, builds up the patch with a mixture of stone and hot bitumen then topped off with dry chips.