IPOH: The Ipoh City Council is using a new method that would reduce pothole repairing time by two-third of the usual time, says mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin.
He said the "hot in place" method takes about 20 mins to repair a pothole, while the conventional way could take about an hour.
"Through the new method, the time to repair a pothole has been shortened. It involves some digging, placing the asphalt and bitumen mixture on the pothole and hot-pressing it before using a steamroller to flatten the surface," he said
Rumaizi said this at a press conference after seeing the pothole repairing process at Jalan Ghazali Jawi here on Thursday (nov 2).
"A custom-made vehicle was also purposely built for it. Repaired potholes would also last longer," he said, adding that the city council is the first in Perak to use this environment-friendly method.
"The spillover asphalt on the road can be recycled and reused. This will help to reduce the usage of materials from quarries by about 50%. This is part of our low carbon city policy," added Rumaizi.
Rumaizi also said that the method would be used to repair potholes on main roads in the city for now, and that the conventional method would be used for repairs in housing areas.
"We hope that there can be fewer complaints about pothole problems after this, especially during the monsoon season with more rainfall," he added.
Asked about Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh's call for states to use Zeon Zoysia grass for fields at stadiums, Rumaizi said the city council, which manages the Perak Stadium, was still in discussion with the state government on it.
"We are still discussing the pros and cons. It's more about the quality of the field and not about the cost for maintenance," he said.
"There were some views that the type of grass was not suitable for the football players. We can hopefully be able to absorb the cost," he added.
Rumaizi also said that if the field at the Perak Stadium were to be changed, the process would take between six to eight months.
"Where will the players play then? It's also an administrative issue.Hopefully there will be a decision by the end of the year," he added.
