Brain dead Council ??

[mcshroom]

Are you ok, MR? I thought the public sector could do no wrong..

Road resurfacing has been outsourced to the private sector

 

[swansonj]

I thought the point of surface dressing was that you had to apply it before potholes start developing - it basically preserves the surface layer and stops water first getting in. Once the surface is cracked, I thought surface dressing was ineffective, because water still gets in and freezes and causes further cracks. And I will vouch for the fact that the roads on which Surrey is applying it already have potholes.

 

[colly]

Name a council that give a damn for anybody. They're either run by idiots as the OP suggests, or they just don't care (until they get sued for something).

In my local area, the roads being as poor as they are elsewhere, they waited for months to reopen the road down Cheddar Gorge as opposed to putting it right there and then. As soon as the weather was good, they shut the road properly to resurface it, thus depriving the local shops some more much needed income. In the same vein, in Portishead last year or possibly the year before, some bright spark decided to shut the High Street...you've guessed it, at Christmas! They changed their minds in the end but it's just that someone thought it could work in the first place. Local businesses were of course delighted, and the list goes on...

The M4 and M5 in the area have both had roadworks and a 50mph limit for the best part of 4-5 years, and the only things you see are a variety of different coloured traffic cones. The Avonmouth Bridge was resurfaced one year some 6-7 years back and they used the wrong asphalt and had to do it again! Now, I'm sure these (ir)responsibilities belong to the Highways Agency but they're all borne of the same stupidity. Perhaps the speed cameras raise too much revenue to make the work any faster?

I drove through France last year - a journey in total of over 2000 miles and saw two lots of roadworks. Road surfaces over the mountain passes of the Tourmalet and the Aubisque, among others were nigh on perfect (and slightly more prone to adverse weather than Cheddar gorge). One of the roadworks we saw was a temporary, rolling roadwork which took up around 1 minute of our journey and less than 30 moving yards as it pressed along. I don't need to tell you just how poor the roads are and just how utterly inept those who do it, are. They'll blame everything from the weather to lack of resources, but the reality is, the HA and most local authorities idea of road maintenance is crap and they need to put their hands up, admit to being the muppets they are and go somewhere where they can be taught properly.

Well say what you mean. Don't sit on the fence.

 

[slowmotion]

I drove through France last year - a journey in total of over 2000 miles and saw two lots of roadworks.

I was a passenger in a six person people carrier to and from the Alps at the end of March. I had plenty of time to gaze at the French autoroutes. Billiard smooth tarmac. The thing that really struck me though was the dead straight white line that marked the hard shoulder. Not a wiggle in hundreds of kilometres, and I was geekily fascinated.

Mind you, it comes at a price. France is pretty much bankrupt. Lovely and glorious and beautiful....but bust.

 

[yello]

French autoroutes are for the most part privately run and maintained, paid for via tolls. One exception I'm aware of is in Brittany where there are no tolls and they are maintained by local government.

Whilst I accept 'surface dressing' is perhaps preferred for reasons of affordability, one hopes that safety concerns aren't completely ignored. What we need is a law suit. Anyone fancy taking one for the team?

 

[dellzeqq]

when it comes to chip and spray Surrey are particularly inept, and that, dear CCpeeps, is because they believe in it. I've no doubt that the muppet who quoted a life extension of eight to ten years thinks that's the case, but the road the FNRttC takes over the North Downs was chipped and sprayed last year and is in as parlous a condition as it was beforehand.

What's worse is that the chips disguise the faults in the road and a bicycle tyre pumped to 120psi will simply dive in to the underlying hole. For those who don't know it, Headley Common Road is a tricky item, with a broken surface toward the edge and a slight reverse camber bend at the bottom of a fast descent. If any of you are doing Ride London (and, personally I'd rather wipe my arse with a badger) then check out the route and do, please, take care, and let your more sportive brethren take to the hedges.

I'm not in favour of spending squillions on road surfaces, but chip and spray is just money down the drain.

 

[outlash]

Cambs CC have just started re-dressing sections of road that they did only last year including a right hand bend at the bottom of a hill (I use the term hill loosely, it is cambridgeshire after all!) where they left 'puddles' of dressing. I took it easy even in my van, leaving it for a few days before I go near it on the bike. Horrible surface to ride on .


Tony.

 

[yello]

I'm not in favour of spending squillions on road surfaces, but chip and spray is just money down the drain.

Guess work on my part, but could it primarily be to do with annual budgets? That is, where squillions would exceed the allocation, 'affordable' gets through even if it is repeated every 3 or 4 years.

I know there are examples of unnecessary spending simply to protect the budget for the following year. For instance, a village may get all its pavements replaced, even though not in dire need, so that the authority can justify and retain its pavement replacement budget for the following year. (I've made that 'frinstance' up btw, it's the principle I'm referring to)

 

[dellzeqq]

I think you're absolutely right, Yello. Little and often is easier to defend.

 

[guitarpete247]

The "It'll be right in a couple of days" argument is a load of tosh. Our council did the road in front of our house 2 years ago and we're still bringing chippings into the house and I regularly have to empty the foot well of the car out.

 

[Rezillo]

It's been the standard intermediate surface treatment for at least the past 40 years and will probably go on being so for a long time to come.

A pain, but there's nothing to do but put up with it. The alternatives are too expensive for use on most roads and just aren't going to happen.

Same here - surface dressing since at least the 1960s is the norm for nearly all rural roads in Suffolk - minor, B and many A roads. It's improved a bit in recent years in that they now sweep the road a few days after laying but it is nothing out of the ordinary for us. It's a pain for a few days, and gravel at junctions is not nice, but it's not a new approach.

 

[yello]

That it's nothing new misses the point. It's dangerous for 2 wheeled vehicles regardless of how long it's been the practice.

 

[Fnaar]

Some Northumberland roads (lovely though they are) are in an absolutely atrocious state, having been surface-dressed poorly over a number of years. Some holes are left, some are hastily filled, others haven't been touched in years.
However, there are some fantastically smooth roads too (the best being in the military ranges above Otterburn)
In fact, two yrs ago, we had one local road voted the worst in the country (paradoxically the news article shows a nice smooth surface ), but as locals will know, that particular road is in fact in a far better state than certain others.
It's difficult, because we usually have harsh winters, and it is a huge county with many remote roads that see little traffic, but still, the priorities for mending them seem to be a bit confused imho.

 

[Longshot]

Well, to be fair to Surrey, they are in charge of a remote, rural area where they have a minimal income from Council Tax so managing their Highways budget must be a tricky task for them.

Oh wait...

 

[Kestevan]

After many years of potholes, craters and patches large streches of the main road between Huddersfield and Holmfirth are in the process of being completely resurfaced. All the top layer has been removed, and new asphalt laid. It's a lovely surface now. White paint has been marked round any and all imperfections in the sections not being completely re-done, so I'm assuming they are going to correct these faults too. When they've finished it will, without a doubt be the best road surface in Kirklees by a long way.


I'm sure that the fact that the road just happens to be the route for next years tour is entirely coincidental, and that Kirklees are going to bring all roads up to this standard.......... oh, and apparantly I've just won 20m in the Nigerian state lottery....