‘Our roads are like craters’ as potholes spread

Councillor David Wilkinson with one of the huge potholes on Sunny Garth

Roads in Westhoughton are finally being repaired but many others still have massive ‘craters’ that need fixing.

Potholes on France Street, The Hoskers and Hindley Road near Hazeldene's entrance are getting attention thanks to requests from Westhoughton South councillor David Wilkinson.

Cllr Wilkinson welcomes these repairs but stresses that many more roads in the town are in dire condition.

He said: “It’s becoming a question of which road isn’t marked for repair. We frequently contact highways about badly damaged roads.

“Recently, Broadwalk was fixed after multiple reports because it had become dangerous with numerous potholes clustered in a small area,” he added.

Thumbs down… Councillor David Wilkinson had this Broadwalk pothole repaired, but he was less than impressed with the job

Cllr Wilkinson described some roads as having “craters” and called many locations “extremely dangerous” to cyclists and motorcyclists as well as causing damage to cars. He noted that the risk extends beyond motorists to cyclists and motorcyclists, who are at serious risk due to the potholes. “Roads in this town and across Bolton are disintegrating at an alarming rate,” he said.

While some funding from the government's HS2 project is expected, Cllr Wilkinson doubts its effectiveness. “We are supposed to receive £432,000 for Bolton, but that will do very little for road safety.”

Bolton Council have said there is a six week delay on getting roads repaired, on top of the usual four week wait, meaning it can take three months to get repairs done.