There Was a Record Number of 2,570 Potholes in S’pore Roads in Jan 2021 Due to Heavy Rain

If you remember how heavy the rain was last month, you’d know that some potholes would form.

But no one would think to find this many.

There Was a Record of 2,570 Potholes in S’pore Roads in Jan 2021 Due to the Heavy Rain

According to the Senior Minister of State for Transport, Amy Khor, there were around 2,570 potholes in Singapore due to the heavy rain in January 2021.

People have been posting images online of several pothole encounters last month.

And some of them are huge.

Almost the entire length of the umbrella fits into this one.

This number is apparently over two times the usual amount after a rainy season.

One can only imagine if a driver has an encounter with any of these potholes, with more than a few accidents possibly occurring.

Thankfully, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) have done their best to fix most of them up.

As of 31 Jan, 95 per cent of the identified potholes have been reportedly patched up.

Dr Khor said that LTA usually repairs one within 24 hours of it being found, but the weather last month made it more challenging.

“Unfortunately, heavy rain hampers pothole-patching works because the road surface needs to be dry in order for patching materials to bond properly.”

To combat this, LTA tripled the number of people dispatched for this problem.

Landslips

Unfortunately, potholes aren’t the only concerning issues due to the heavy rain.

Another one of those is landslips.

This happens when the ground becomes saturated with water after long periods of heavy rain.

The earth becomes heavier and the water makes the soil unable to lock together, loosening its structure and becoming unstable.

This results in the soil and rocks ‘slipping’ from their position.

Two notable landslip events happened near Tampines Expressway towards Loyang Avenue.

It happened despite the slope having a protective covering, but the roads were closed off soon after.

They’ve been lined with concrete since the incident and are still being monitored.

Thankfully, Dr Khor noted that LTA hasn’t detected any soil erosion cases along slopes near roads for the past year.

LTA Remains Vigilant In Case Of Incidents

But that doesn’t mean guards can be let down.

LTA reportedly checks expressways for road defects every week, major roads every fortnight, and all other roads every eight weeks.

They also inspect 200 roads near slopes quarterly, including steeper ones during wetter seasons.

LTA also does their best to resurface roads when possible.

Slopes will also have protective covering and retaining walls if necessary, The Straits Times reported.

Dr Khor also mentioned that motorists should stay safe and watch for potholes or other road defects like landslips.

Any such sightings can be reported to LTA, the MyTransport.SG mobile app, or the Municipal Services Office’s OneService app.

Though you might not encounter such problem in Feb; do you know that it’s going to be warm and dry in the first two weeks of February 2021?

Yeah, it’s going to be a sunny Chinese New Year.

Featured Image: Kawin Ounprasertsuk / Shutterstock.com