Tools & Supplies

JCB Machine That Seals Potholes in Under 8 Minutes

The JCB Pothole Pro is four times faster than traditional methods.

Updated on

June 22, 2024

JCB has designed a high-speed pothole filler—JCB Pothole Pro—that can repair holes in less than eight minutes, four times faster than traditional methods.

The 13-tonne machine, already operational in the UK, is fitted with a sweeper/bucket and a hydraulic cropping tool that enables it to cut defects, crop pothole edges, and clean holes.

By mechanising these tasks, which are ordinarily handled manually by pothole-filling crews, JCB says its Pothole Pro can save time while cutting operating costs by half.

The JCB Pothole Pro is based on the company’s Hydradig wheeled excavator and has three main attachments: a planer fitted with an integrated dust suppression unit; a 600mm hydraulic cropper tool; and a 1.2m-wide sweeper and bucket.

The hydraulic cropper tool and the sweeper and bucket are mounted on an X12 Steelwrist tiltrotator, which is fitted to the two-piece boom of the JCB pothole filler.

According to JCB’s chief innovation & growth officer Tim Burnhope, the machine brings energy reductions, better recycling opportunities, and greater safety while reducing the need for pothole-filling teams on site.

The JCB Pothole Pro, which has a top speed of 40kph, is designed to cut down to a maximum depth of 170mm (a pothole’s average depth is 40mm) before the cropper tool squares off the edges of the damaged surface. After the cleaning and clearing of the hole, the machine moves forward with the second crew tarring and compacting the area.

First sold to UK councils in 2022, the JCB Pothole Pro costs around £165,000 to buy and can fix a pothole in eight minutes at a cost of about £29 per minute.

This represents roughly half the cost of using conventional methods to fill potholes, as the repairs last longer, resulting in additional savings in maintenance expenses.