Commuter calls for resurfacing of A616 Great North Road between South Muskham and the A46 at Newark to fix “bone rattling” potholes

A commuter has branded a busy pothole-ridden road as a “bone rattler” and called for it to be resurfaced.

Andrea Lloyd, who has lived in the area for around 20 years and regularly drives along the A616 Great North Road, between South Muskham and Cattle Market Roundabout, Newark, said the road is in an absolutely dire condition.

She said: “I’ve noticed its been getting worse and worse, particularly between the sugar beet factory and the A46 roundabout. Its getting rapidly worse I’ve noticed with my suspension, and its getting difficult for people to avoid the potholes.”

After having surgery in December, Andrea admitted she had had to specifically ask to be driven home along different roads to avoid being bumped around. Now, she is using the bus to travel along the road.

“Its far, far worse,” she added, explaining her bus journeys had highlighted the issues with the road.

“It literally felt like a bone rattler. You get bounced and jostled around. Its really unpleasant.

“I can’t understand why anyone in their right mind would resurface the road through South Muskham village — which in my opinion was acceptable — and not between the sugar factory and A46 roundabout.

“It needs doing properly, its a really high traffic road.”

Recent figures from the RAC revealed its patrols attended nearly 30,000 pothole-related breakdowns in the UK during 2023 — and it is one of the leading causes of breakdowns in the country, with the equivalent of 80 breakdowns a day being due to potholes.

The breakdown assistance company has highlighted the dangers of potholes, which can cause damage including broken suspension springs, damaged shock absorbers and distorted wheels.

Andrea is calling on highways authority Nottinghamshire County Council to factor the need for the road’s resurfacing into its 2024 to 2025 budgets, set to begin with the new financial year in April.

She added: “If any part of the road network needs doing, it is the high-traffic areas.

“I understand that when the council deciding how to spend its budget it has a system which prioritises the most important things. I cannot understand why South Muskham was more important. It does get a lot of traffic but not as much as the A616.”

A highways manager from Nottinghamshire County Council said: “Recent severe weather episodes have taken a significant toll on Nottinghamshire’s roads.

“Severe flooding causes substantial damage to our highways, which then deteriorate further when heavy rainfall is combined with sub-zero temperatures to create a ‘freeze/thaw’ effect. The freezing conditions in turn require us to grit our major road network for safety reasons, but repeated gritting can also weaken the asphalt on our highways.

“It is therefore inevitable that we are experiencing a rise in reports of damage to our roads and pavements at this time. We are battling as hard as we can against the effects of these weather events. Residents may see an increase in emergency repairs as we work to keep our highways safe throughout the winter. We will still however be undertaking permanent repairs wherever we can, which residents can see at https://www.nottshighways.co.uk/, and we will continue with large-scale patch repairs as part of our four-year Highways Improvement Plan.

“We recognise this is a really important issue, and we have secured a major new transport fund, with £1.5bn which will be controlled by the new Regional Mayor and Combined Authority. We consider this to be a big opportunity to invest in improving our roads.

“Over the past seven years we have invested an extra £40 million in road maintenance in Nottinghamshire. We continue to lobby central government for more funds, as do most highways authorities across the country as they contend with similar problems.

“Where residents notice potholes, we ask that they continue to report them to us either through our website or the MyNotts App, after which an inspector will attend the site as soon as possible within ten working days to assess it for repairs — please include photos if you can to help us prioritise. There is also more information on how we manage highways for extreme weather on our website.”