A "notoriously" potholed Oxfordshire road has become the location of a two-year experiment trialling 15 different filling and patching methods.
This comes amid a pothole crisis, which sees more than 1,000 emergency reports a week.
The move is an attempt to find the best solution to fix the county's roads and saw a range of materials and kits used to test techniques, some currently in use and others yet to hit the streets.
This week, Wildmere Road in Banbury, was closed and a 700-metre stretch was divided into sections with teams filling holes and surfacing stretches along it.
Alison Bristow works at the Factory Store on the road and described it as "notoriously bobbling, at the best of times".
She said travelling to work on the bus, she can feel the damage on the road, calling it "a bit of a bum shaker".
Alison added: "Whatever they're doing to try and alleviate it is always a good idea."
The trial is a collaboration between roads contractor M Group and the county council.
M Group Business Director Richard Lovewell, explained his work gangs currently use five techniques to work on potholes across the county.
He said: "We sort of look at it like a Swiss Army knife of options and what we're trying to do is look at the technologies that exist nowadays to add more blades to that Swiss Army knife, so that we're as effective as we can be with the pothole endemic that nationally everybody is currently dealing with.
"I guess the most exciting bit for us is looking at what different technologies and those materials can bring."
He is looking to see what techniques can allow "extra durability" and allow teams to work in different weather.
The council explained there have been no extra costs incurred with the trial as it has been filling real potholes and suppliers from across the country have donated their materials to be tested.
This includes a fast-curing resin which has been used on factory floors and is now being tested for highway repairs.
The experiment comes amid repeated calls for more action on the state of Oxfordshire's roads.
Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Construction and Repair, Liz Leffman, said: “The impact of potholes on our roads this winter, not just in Oxfordshire but nationwide, has been unprecedented."
She described the trial as "an opportunity to make sure that we are fit for the future when it comes to filling potholes"
Ms Leffman added: "What I hope we can guarantee is that we will manage more efficiently with longer and more long-lasting and more resistant pothole fillings so over time we will get on top of this problem.
"We have already got on top of 33,000 potholes this year. We've got about another 4,000 to go, we hope to complete those by the end of June."
She said there will still be more to fill over summer and that she hopes "next winter we're in better shape because of all the work we're doing" at the trial.
Wildmere Road will be monitored regularly over the next two years to allow comparisons of the type of repair, equipment, material, and labour used.
It is a stretch which regularly sees HGV traffic, and Ms Leffman hopes this will test the repairs to the limit.
Share