Council repaired more than 4,000 potholes last year

West Lothian Council engineers unveiled a £6m capital investment plan for the county’s roads.

Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter

Posted in

West Lothian

West Lothian Council have revealed they repaired more than 4,000 potholes last year.

The figure was released as the council engineers unveiled a £6m capital investment plan for the county’s roads.

The plan includes two major roads in Bathgate – Edinburgh Road and Menzies Road.

Councillors were told at this months Bathgate Local Area Committee that the ongoing squeeze on council finances meant money was tight for major projects and the council relies on pothole patching to maintain the county’s roads.

West Lothian council maintains 659 miles of adopted road in the county, as well as assorted infrastructure such as bridges, street lights and drainage gullies.

Further investment will be directed towards, maintaining 594 structures, 48,176 street lights and 38,180 gully drains.

In 2024, 4,541 pothole defects were repaired – an average of more than 12 potholes every single day of the year. The majority were reported in the winter months when a mixture of rain and frost causes road surfaces to crack.

Tom Conn, the Executive councillor for Environment and Sustainability said: “Upgrading our local roads and infrastructure is vitally important and it’s a process that never ends.

“It’s a role that our roads team undertake each day and the council will continue to improve the road network around the county this year, and direct a significant amount of funding towards the maintenance of the local road network.”