deptfordmarmoset
Full time tea drinker
- Location
- Armonmy Way
Tarmac quarry?
i fill potholes(my job)
- Thread starter photography27
- Start date
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Tarmac quarry?
A euphemism – for a black plant
Potholes fixed using cold materials are almost temporary fixes by definition – mixing hot black materials to a quality sufficient to fix potholes is not rocket science and as such anything coming out of plant that looks about right will do the job – add in a little care in preparing the pothole before placing the patch and reasonable workmanship in placing the black patch so it bonds properly with the intact material it is easy to repair a pothole to a good running surface.
However, potholes do not appear by random – in 95% of cases there is an underlying reason for the defect – localised patch and move on does not fix the underlying problem so in a few years – or sometimes less - the pothole will reappear – trouble is fixing the underlying problems costs at least two to three orders of magnitude greater than patching – for the main thoroughfares in the UK probably more than the existing national debt - more than we will ever be able to afford
On the side road where I live, which is some layers of surface over the original cobbles (or setts I think technically), there's a long stretch that had a series of holes that were patched, then the bits between the patches became holes, so you had the repairs standing out like islands or mushrooms with no road between!
All been repatched last autumn, cut out the whole lot and redone, and not suffered too bad this winter despite the cold so far.
yashicamat
New Member
- Location
- Macclesfield, Cheshire
As someone who has had just a little bit of involvement with this line of work, the problem is that in the last year or two, an authority might be granted sufficient funds to resurface perhaps about 0.5 to 1.0% of it's network per year. Well, the road surfaces don't last that long (design life of a new road is about 20 years before intervention, but as has been mentioned, materials are not as good as they used to be) so it is fairly inevitable that the roads will continue to deteriorate. Once upon a time, there was a much, much bigger budget to dip into, but this is not the case anymore.
The problem is this is compounded by ever increasing costs of actually doing the work, increasing cost of materials and increasing numbers of vehicles on the road that further accelerates the wear. Add into this equation the last few hard winters, and it's really not surprising that we're seeing the deterioration that we are.
Temporary repairs with cold material will only ever be a stopgap to some proper patching, but if the structure of the road is suspect then even this is only a temporary repair until a full resurfacing of surface, binder and possibly even base course is required. The latter costs a LOT of money!
It's a royal PITA, I wish there was an easier way, but unfortunately it's another aspect of the country's infrastructure that will continue to suffer while we are in this economic dip.
While we're on road surfacing btw, the 'sprayed on chippings' (surface dressing) might seem very messy and ineffective, but it's actually a very cost effective way of sealing up a tired road surface - expect to see it used much more to try and hold together those roads that are on the brink of breaking up.
Hope this info helps to put people in the picture a bit more.
The problem is this is compounded by ever increasing costs of actually doing the work, increasing cost of materials and increasing numbers of vehicles on the road that further accelerates the wear. Add into this equation the last few hard winters, and it's really not surprising that we're seeing the deterioration that we are.
Temporary repairs with cold material will only ever be a stopgap to some proper patching, but if the structure of the road is suspect then even this is only a temporary repair until a full resurfacing of surface, binder and possibly even base course is required. The latter costs a LOT of money!
It's a royal PITA, I wish there was an easier way, but unfortunately it's another aspect of the country's infrastructure that will continue to suffer while we are in this economic dip.
While we're on road surfacing btw, the 'sprayed on chippings' (surface dressing) might seem very messy and ineffective, but it's actually a very cost effective way of sealing up a tired road surface - expect to see it used much more to try and hold together those roads that are on the brink of breaking up.
Hope this info helps to put people in the picture a bit more.
i blame the cheap tarmac too. there is a road near me that was laid about 30 years ago. It's that nice smooth black tarmac (the sort we use to love to skate on). The tarmac is that "tightly knitted" stuff that looks like it's been laid with a proper steam roller, in the days when they knew how to lay roads... and hasn't got one pothole in all those years.
I go out of my way to cycle on it but it only lasts for 1/2 a mile
All the other roads around here at that concrete type mix, where you can see it's just large schrapnel glued together. You can tell it just lets water seep in, the cold comes, freezes it and bob's your uncle... or Bob's your pothole. same with the new gravel stuff they are putting down. it's just a short term fix and false economy. Within 2 days of them resurfacing the A45 past the airport, lorry tyres had ripped up and re-opened the deep trenches. What a waste of money.
There was a huge pothole on the A34. stretched across one lane. Opened up last winter and it's taken them all year to come and do it. i drove past while they were packing up and you could clearly see they had stopped short by about 6 inches. They probably left that bit because it didn't look too bad at the edge. I knew it would just open up again in about 2 weeks. It took 4 days and now there is another huge hole. Another complete waste of our money for the sake of 6 inches.
I go out of my way to cycle on it but it only lasts for 1/2 a mile
All the other roads around here at that concrete type mix, where you can see it's just large schrapnel glued together. You can tell it just lets water seep in, the cold comes, freezes it and bob's your uncle... or Bob's your pothole. same with the new gravel stuff they are putting down. it's just a short term fix and false economy. Within 2 days of them resurfacing the A45 past the airport, lorry tyres had ripped up and re-opened the deep trenches. What a waste of money.
There was a huge pothole on the A34. stretched across one lane. Opened up last winter and it's taken them all year to come and do it. i drove past while they were packing up and you could clearly see they had stopped short by about 6 inches. They probably left that bit because it didn't look too bad at the edge. I knew it would just open up again in about 2 weeks. It took 4 days and now there is another huge hole. Another complete waste of our money for the sake of 6 inches.
While we're on road surfacing btw, the 'sprayed on chippings' (surface dressing) might seem very messy and ineffective, but it's actually a very cost effective way of sealing up a tired road surface - expect to see it used much more to try and hold together those roads that are on the brink of breaking up.
Hope this info helps to put people in the picture a bit more.
This might be true but sometimes is downright dangerous to cyclists. There have been a couple of times i've been out when this has been put down and i've seriously felt the bike shift underneath me even though i've been cycling along slower and very upright!
Hacienda71
Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
- Location
- Wilmslow, Cheshire
The annoying thing to see is road works on a road that has been re-surfaced only a year or so before. You know where the patch joins the original tarmac potholes will appear, can't there be more communication between utility companies and the LA on planned maintenance.
Trevrev
Veteran
- Location
- Southampton
I reported two large potholes along Bassett Avenue in Southampton, to Southampton city Councils actionline on Monday, when i cycled home along said road on tuesday evening, they had been done.
Well done them i say.........Very quick work!
Well done them i say.........Very quick work!
buddha
Veteran
There's a pothole near me that is of Adam Rayner proportions. There, I've found a proper use for the fella 
thankyou, but I'd rather walk! The thought of having to wear those baggy shorts is tooooo ghastly!Don't worry folk. Budgets might be getting cut, roads might be getting worse, so we'll all have to hang our road bikes up, and get a bling full susser for the new MTB courses that are being created. !!!
The deal is this. Roads are being patched and re-surfaced badly. Some authorities are smarter than others. And, then again, there's Surrey.
Ticktockmy
Guru
- Location
- Crawley, West Sussex
For those who cycle around the Ifield, Rusper Charlwood area some of the roads are like ploughed fields, last evening when out for my evening run, I turned out of Mount road, to go down Hillybarn lane, after the doggie kennels the road is one hell of a mess, the bad weather has broken the road surface up and the run off down the road has just dug deep channels. Come as a complete surprise as before Christmas the road surface was ok.
I decided to walk down to the Ifield wood road, and parts of that are broken up as well
I decided to walk down to the Ifield wood road, and parts of that are broken up as well
recumbentpanda
Guru
I would like to shake the sticky, black, calloused hands of every member of my local council tarmac team - they have done a sterling job - so much so that the CTC has recognised them as the best pothole fillers in the country! Well done lads at Bath & N E Somerset, take a bow!
But here's something strange: in the same vicinity is the famous Bath/Bristol cyclepath, the first ever Sustrans route. These days, much of it is tarmacked. I can think of only one significant pothole between Bath and Bristol and that was filled in last month. Same surface, same weather, different . . . . hmmm . . . now what is it that's different? Oh yes . . . no, can't be, cars don't create potholes, it's the pothole fairy and he doesn't like cycletracks . . .
But here's something strange: in the same vicinity is the famous Bath/Bristol cyclepath, the first ever Sustrans route. These days, much of it is tarmacked. I can think of only one significant pothole between Bath and Bristol and that was filled in last month. Same surface, same weather, different . . . . hmmm . . . now what is it that's different? Oh yes . . . no, can't be, cars don't create potholes, it's the pothole fairy and he doesn't like cycletracks . . .
