ACT government 'chasing their tails' over Canberra pothole repairs

After making multiple calls and requests to Access Canberra to fix the problem, he decided to vent his frustration on Facebook.

The humorous post attracted a lot of attention and the hole was filled the next day.

While Mr Wilkie made light of the issue, saying the pothole was shaped like a map of Australia, he said the damage they cause is "no laughing matter".

"It's really serious for motorbikes on the road at the moment. They are at the most risk because if someone was riding along and they didn't see a pothole, they'd hit it and go straight over the handlebars," he said.

About 8000 potholes have been repaired in the ACT over the last year, significantly higher than the 3000 repaired in a typical year. Crews patched 1100 potholes in August alone.

Transport Minister Chris Steel said a changing climate resulting in more rain across the ACT had caused significant damage to the road network.

"The government is providing all available resources to locate and repair potholes throughout the road network and we've extended contractor resources and redirected street sweeping crews to assist in repairing road damage," Mr Steel said.

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A contract for hot-mix patching of potholes has been extended and Roads ACT is working to sign a second contract.

Warmer weather over summer will also allow work to begin on the government's preventative road maintenance program, which has been limited in scope over the past two years by wet weather.

"For years we've had substantial rain and we're seeing the after effects of that. The ACT government is really chasing their tails. I really don't think they're going to get on top of it in a hurry," Mr Wilkie said.

"It looks like an impossible mission, they've shot themselves in the foot."

Between October 6 and 9, the government used 20 tonnes of cold mix to fill potholes, which is usually enough for two to three weeks' worth of patches.

Transport Minister Steel said the situation was not unique to the ACT, and other Australian road authorities were grappling with significant extra work to maintain road networks.

"We're getting on with the job of maintaining our roads and this month the government is temporarily repairing potholes with a focus on the most dangerous damage, noting the difficulty of effecting repairs because the asphalt doesn't settle during rain and colder periods of the year," he said.

A lengthy debate in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday afternoon ultimately voted to amend a motion moved by the opposition spokeswoman on city services, Nicole Lawder, which had called on the government to investigate changes to the road maintenance program and provide a plan to reduce pothole compensation claims paid out by the government.

The government has paid out more than $43,000 across 50 pothole damage claims so far this year, up from 40 last year and 16 in 2020.

Mr Steel's amendment, which was passed by the Assembly, compels the government to update the Assembly early next year on its strategic road maintenance plan.

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