MANY district roads have been left battered and bruised by the recent big freeze, with more repair call-outs than ever recorded for this time of year.
Rathfriland is thought to be one of the worst affected areas with Roads Service due to begin work there this week.
A spokesperson for the local Section Office said they had been inundated with calls during the last two weeks from motorists who have
encountered large potholes.The worst affected roads include the Mountain Road, Closkelt, Ballyroney Road, Rathfriland; Knocknagore Road, Laurencetown; Drumaran Road,Gilford and Downpatrick Street, Loughbrickland.
Local figures for motorists involved in accidents featuring potholes are not yet available, but the Central Claims Unit said they had had around 600 requests for claim forms from across Northern Ireland - a much higher figure than normal for this time of year.
Autoglass said they had had increased custom too. Managing Director Nigel Doggett said, "Once a pothole has formed, it continues to grow through further chunks and chippings being worked free by traffic.
"Ultimately, this has culminated in increased damage to windscreens – firstly as a result of those loose chippings leaving the road surface and hitting windscreens forming a chip, and secondly, when existing chips in windscreens are put under excessive pressure due to sustained and repeated travel over uneven surfaces."
One angry motorist said, "There are parts of the district where it's getting dangerous to drive your car. It's too dangerous to drive up the middle of the road although it's getting to the stage where you might have to do that to avoid them.
"Sod's law is that you discover a pothole when there's a vehicle coming towards you and you have no choice but to drive over the pothole. "I pay my road taxes and I expect better than this."
Roads Service said, "Whilst it will take time to assess the true extent of the damage, Roads Service undertakes a series of regular inspections and condition surveys to ensure the road network is maintained to defined standards and that serious road defects are detected and repaired.
"The inspection process has started to ascertain what areas have been affected.
"These arrangements together with the experience and professional judgement of our engineers ensure that the roads remain safe and do not fall below satisfactory and serviceable levels."
- HAVE you seen the District's biggest pothole? Email your pictures as jpegs to aine.fox@banbridgeleader.co.uk