THURROCK Council has today (Monday, 7 February) published an upbeat press release promoting the success of its 'innovative' jet pack programme to patch the borough's potholes.

Cllr Ben Maney has eulogised the council's 'eight week pilot programme' which he says has seen a record number of repairs completed at almost 'half the cost' across Thurrock's roads and highways.

However, the council's PR blitz appears to have forgotten two previous programmes featuring 'jet patching'.

In 2017 the council championed its 'clean it, cut it, fill it' initiative with a burst of publicity about its grasp of 'new' technology.

Then lead councillor for Highways and Transport, Cllr Brian Little, said: "We know how important the condition of roads are to residents and we are working hard to repair potholes. Through clean it, cut it, fill it and other initiatives, we are investing more than £2million this year alone on road upgrades and repairs.

"There's still more work to do, but residents should see a real improvement in the roads across Thurrock."

You can read all about the 2017 initiative in this report.

Two years later, in 2019, the council once again launched a publicity blitz about its 'new' jet patching.

Cllr Little's successor, Cllr Aaron Watkins was very much on the front foot, telling residents the council had discovered something new and was revolutionising road repairs. He said: "By bringing in this technology the Council will be able to get potholes repaired and filled throughout Thurrock, all in a very short space of time.

"The council knows that potholes are an important issue for our residents and by taking advantage of jet patching techniques we can quickly and efficiently make a significant impact on the number of potholes in our roads.

"This is yet another example of Thurrock Council investing in our road network and in improving the borough's environment."

The great 'initiative' of 2019 can be read about here.

And today seems the wheel has been reinvented yet again with another press release from the council claiming it is breaking (or rather repairing!) new ground.

The release says: "An eight week pilot programme has seen a record number of repairs completed at almost half the cost across Thurrock's roads and highways.

"The innovative programme, which was delivered in collaboration with Thurrock Council partner Velocity, utilises a device known as a jet patcher to fill cracks and potholes in roads. Once a crack or crevice has been identified, the jet patcher fires out bitumen and stone into the damaged road surface and firms it into place before allowing it to cool.

"Over the course of two months more than 1,900 repairs were completed on roads across the borough."

And Cllr Maney, tearing a leaf out of the book of his predecessors, says: "This is truly fantastic work from our Highways Infrastructure team providing a far more cost effective and greener way to repair our roads and provide safer conditions for our drivers.

"The typical cost of a repair such as filling a crack or pothole is more than £60, but with this new technique we are looking at closer to half this cost, around £31. Furthermore the new approach, which has been refined over the years, will see half as much carbon emitted as the existing method as we continue to prioritise the safety of our environment.

"With this forward thinking and innovative approach we can take preventative measures to stop potholes in their tracks. The team are looking closely at the data, with the hope to run the programme again in Summer 2022."