Mayrise Mobile Mapping Helps Torbay Tackle Pothole

08 July 2010, 10:37am

Hi-tech computerised mapping and reporting software from Mayrise Systems is helping Torbay Council deal with a record number of potholes. Following the winter freeze, the council is responding to nearly three times the number of defects usually experienced. Using a MAYRISE Highways system, reported potholes are logged before being automatically scheduled for inspection and, depending on severity, issued with a work order. Inspectors equipped with PDA’s pinpoint pothole locations, record defect details and create reports to update the central system.

Cabinet Member for Transport, Cllr Chris Lewis, said “Although Torbay is certainly not alone in experiencing this type of problem, the temperatures experienced last winter are far lower than those normally met. Given our traditionally mild climate we are only now meeting problems the rest of the country has to deal with far more frequently.”

MAYRISE Highways is a comprehensive system for managing highways assets and maintenance. The centralised system offers a single, real time solution that will operate across multiple sites. Using the National Street Gazetteer as a base MAYRISE Highways can manage defects, works orders, invoicing, inspections and asset inventory. The product also seamlessly integrates with mobile applications, street works software and can be live linked to contact centres, GIS and e-government services using web technology.

“Mayrise provides a central repository for a wide range of information detailing our highway resource,” commented Torbay Council’s Highways Manager, Patrick Carney. “The location of the reported fault is recorded against a backdrop of Ordnance Survey mapping and following inspection the extent and nature of the defect logged. Works or ‘watch’ orders are automatically created and during the first two months of this year we repaired 20 potholes as emergencies – carried out within two hours of being inspected with a further 99 urgent repairs undertaken with 24 hours.”

The repeated freeze-thaw cycle experienced during the past two winters are being blamed for making the problem worse. Potholes are formed by water penetrating the asphalt surface of a road through cracks caused by traffic. When temperatures plunge, the water freezes, expands and causes the surface to rupture. When the ice melts, it leaves a void below the surface, which caves in under the stress of vehicles and eventually forms a pothole. The Institute of Civil Engineers has estimated that, based on current local authority budgets, it would take an estimated 13 years to clear the backlog of pothole repairs in England and 15 years in Wales. Calculations are based on 2009 figures from the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey.

www.mayrise.co.uk

GeoConnexion UK