A new approach to potholes

Motorists will be happy to notice that NAC has abandoned the cranky Jet Patcher, whose patches fell apart as though made of black custard powder. Instead, they are deploying a piece of apparatus that looks like a super-heated sun-bed. Using gas cylinders, it cooks up a small amount of hot tar and aggregate that is dumped into the pothole then rolled firmly into place – and it works. The result is a smooth, flat mend that appears so far to last well. At first sight the machine bears a gimcrack resemblance to an entry for the Whiting Bay raft race. It’s distinctly low-tech, but the thinking behind it is brilliantly simple. Instead of shipping a fast-cooling tanker-load of tar from the mainland, a small quantity is heated in situ, fresh and hot every time. Well done, NAC.