Customer: Cork County Council
Road network: Approximately 12,000 km
Roadmaster fleet: 18 machines
Interviewee: John Tobin, Plant Stores Superintendent
The challenge: a large network and a stretched maintenance budget
Cork County Council maintains approximately 12,000 km of roads. With a limited road-maintenance budget and a high volume of defects to address, the team needed a way to keep roads in service for longer without continually returning to the same repairs.
Before adopting spray injection patching, a three-person pickup-and-tar crew could repair around three tonnes of defects in a day. Those conventional repairs could last as little as three months.
The approach: make preventative maintenance part of the programme
Cork has used Roadmaster velocity patchers for 12 years and now operates a fleet of 18 machines. The council uses the machines not only for potholes, but also to address raw patches, crumbling edges and defects before they become larger failures. The team also uses the process to help hold roads ahead of full surface dressing where a full treatment is not yet necessary.
The outcome: more output, longer-lasting repairs
- 6 tonnes per day: John reports that one Roadmaster and one operator can complete approximately six tonnes of work in a day.
- 12+ months: Roadmaster repairs can last more than 12 months, compared with conventional repairs that may last around three months.
- Fewer return visits: The calibrated process helps the council make a more durable repair and defer larger interventions where appropriate.
- Lower resource demand: The approach can reduce the number of people and vehicles required for the same maintenance output.
“Once you look at the numbers, velocity patching is a no-brainer, and the Archway Roadmaster is the best machine I’ve seen.”
John Tobin, Plant Stores Superintendent, Cork County Council
What changed
For Cork, the value is larger than faster pothole repair. It is the ability to use preventative maintenance to protect the existing road surface, keep resources focused on the highest-value work and extend the time before more carbon- and resource-intensive resurfacing may be required.
Could this work for your network?
Talk to the Roadmaster team about a spray injection patching programme designed around your network, budget and maintenance priorities.