To find out more about the JCB PotholePro, visit jcb.com/potholepro.
The company’s PotholePro machine, which launched earlier this year, can fix a pothole in less than eight minutes, four times quicker than standard methods and at half the cost of current solutions.
Before the PotholePro, councils or contractors could take more than a day to fix a road defect. First along would be a groundworker equipped with a vibrating breaker or cutting saw who prepares the boundaries of the cut. Then a sweeper truck would follow to remove the milled material and cropped edges, leaving a shallow, rectangular and clean hole for the blacktop gang to fill and seal. Meaning three different teams with different equipment to tackle one pothole.
But the new JCB machine allows the contractor or local authority to cut the defect, crop the edges and clean the hole with just one machine – delivering up to a 50% cut in daily costs, reducing the typical £60 per 1 square meter repair down to less than £30, for a first time permanent fix. What’s more, in highway mode, the PotholePro can travel to its destination at speeds of up to 25mph.
Its three in one solution for permanent pothole repairs has been specifically designed to fix any pothole repair or large reinstatement operations, efficiently, economically and permanently.
The detail - how it works
CUT - From the cab, the operator can easily adjust the 600mm wide planer and integrated dust suppression system, which enables the operator to plane a full carriageway from the kerb, without repositioning. It is designed to plane through a multitude of surfaces, including up to 170mm in Hot Road Asphalt.
CROP - The machine also comes with a sweeper/bucket and hydraulic cropping tool, allowing a uniform hole to be prepared by the operator from the comfort of their cab eliminating the need for jack hammers or circular saws - improving safety and maximising performance
CLEAN - The 1,200mm wide sweeper collector with dust suppression enables the operator to prepare the pothole in a matter of minutes. Milled up planings can then be dumped into a support vehicle for recycling.
Improvements in health and safety
What’s more, because it reduces the need for manual labour, the machine eliminates the danger of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) from the workforce.
HAVS is an irreversible and painful condition caused by overexposure to vibrations, such as from pneumatic drills, jack hammers and breakers.
It’s estimated that up to two million workers are at risk of developing it in the UK, while 300,000 people are currently suffering from the advanced stages of the illness.
And because the machine can tackle potholes without the need for multiple pieces of equipment, it also reduces the number of workers who need to be in the carriageway – further minimising risks.
Why a permanent repair?
Councils around the country get a request to fix a pothole every 46 seconds, and nationwide more than £8.1 million was paid out in compensation to drivers in 2020 for vehicle damage caused by potholes.
Just like a dentist has to remove all the decay when you have a filling, so your tooth can be filled properly without the recurrence of pain, it’s the same with a pothole. It needs to be prepared properly before it is filled so it doesn’t open up again within weeks.
And that’s exactly what the JCB PotholePro does.
Able to complete a pothole repair in less than eight minutes, the machine can permanently fix up to 250 square metres of defects per day and 700 potholes per month.
Plus with a 40km/h travel speed, the machine can also rapidly relocate between sites without added transport costs.
The proof
The PotholePro machine and JCB team has been touring the country since its launch working with local authorities to demonstrate the potential of the machine.
Having completed more than 50 demonstrations, the machine has now filled the equivalent of more than 16,500 potholes – equal to three football pitches worth of road surface.
Councillor Daniel Jellyman, cabinet member for regeneration, infrastructure and heritage at the Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said he was very impressed with the trials which took place and as a result the PotholePro was now being deployed on the city’s roads.
“We’re absolutely delighted to have our own JCB PotholePro. We’ve been fortunate to help JCB with the development of the machine over the past year so we’ve been able to test it out extensively on our roads already, and be at the forefront of developing new technologies and ways of working to tackle a problem motorists face up and down the country.
“During that time we’ve been able to fix 7000sqm of patches, which is the equivalent of Wembley Stadium’s football pitch. We’ve done that in just 80 days. Using traditional methods this would have taken 758 days, so the works rate and success of this machine speaks for itself.”
The science
But how does a pothole form? Most potholes are caused by water which seeps into existing small cracks in the surface of the road caused by the wear and tear of traffic and deterioration over time.
Cold weather then causes this water to freeze and expand and when this water melts in warmer weather, it creates gaps which then get broken down by cars on the roads.
Much more than just potholes
The JCB PotholePro is made for potholes but it can do so much more beyond that - making it the perfect machine for local authorities. With the wide range of attachments available from JCB, the machine can carry up to one tonne in a shovel, stump grind, mow grass, trim hedges and trees, move pallets, blow snow and do trenching and demolition work.
The specifications
The PotholePro comes with a JCB EcoMAX 448 engine, which delivers 81kW (108hp) power output.
With safety in mind, it is fitted with a battery isolator, rear camera, fire extinguisher, reverse alarm, rear fog lights, an amber beacon and a red a white hi-vis counterweight.
For driver comfort and convenience, the sound-insulated cab, which is mounted on four shock absorbers, comes with a range of outstanding features.
It features a deluxe high back fabric air suspension seat with heated base, height adjustable arms, sliding window, immobiliser, 7” colour display, a media port to ensure superb connectivity for all electronic devices, a rain visor, radio kit, locking park brake and 3” hi-vis seat belt.
The cab also comes with climate control, momentary park brake and locking brake pedal, travel speed indicator, and option to switch between highway and site mode, enhanced tilt-rotator controls, a rear wash wipe and internal storage container.
To find out more about the JCB PotholePro, visit jcb.com/potholepro
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