Mayor impressed with pothole patching

PATCHING a pothole can take seven minutes or less. This was the time it took to repair two potholes during a trial run on Tuesday aimed at expediting road repairs. San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello witnessed the repair work first-hand.

“So far I am extremely impressed with what I have seen.

“This is a trial basis and we are going to review it, get feedback from stakeholders and see how we will go forward with it,” Regrello said. He revealed it costs about $1.3 million to pave the entire length of High Street and remove the top layer of the road.

Using the services of Asphalt Processors Company Ltd, the San Fernando City Corporation accepted the offer with the hope that commuters will have a smoother drive in the city. “It will take a lot of stress and pressure off drivers and road commuters in terms of the wear and tear on vehicles. This is really a solution to a major problem. Until we can improve or have the resources to treat with it, we are going to look at this,” Regrello said.

The company patched two small potholes at Short Street, Lower High Street, in San Fernando, using one bag of material.

The product is a high-performance permanent pavement repair cold-mix solution from Canada. It is engineered to deal with that country’s road conditions, where there are a lot of “frost heaves” and potholes and cracks in the paved surfaces.

Business development manager of Asphalt Processors Gabriel Reece said the process is a more feasible way of keeping the roads in a more serviceable condition.

“So the materials are perfect for Trinidad and for road restoration.