Weird Gravel

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Jezston

Über Member
Location
London
Some weird sh*t is being done to assorted short stretches of the A52 at the moment - a section at a time is being covered with gravel while the highways agency do something or other. Whatever it is appears to be rather unclear.

As well as the hazard caused by motorists ignoring the 10mph speed limit throwing up stones like buckshot, it appears the gravel is sticky - after riding through a short stretch of the stuff I had to stop to pick the little stones off my tires.

Whats all that about?
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
I suspect the answer is in the Hyde park cycle lane thread - the gravel is top dressing on a bitumen layer, and will eventually be pushed down by car tyres and the excess swept up.

Some sort of rumble strips perhaps, if it's only in patches?
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
It's a mid-life refurbishment of the surface.

When the structure of the road is fine, but the surface is a little tired. It seals any surface cracks to stop them turning into craters later.

Once the debris clears, you'll find the ride a lot smoother. Did that to a 50 mph road on one of my commutes. I used an alternative route for a few days.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
It's called top dressing. Come for a ride up here in the Ribble Valley if you want to see what happens to it in a few years when it's starting to go bald in patches, and get dental insurance before you come.
 

guitarpete247

Just about surviving
Location
Leicestershire
They've done a lot of the roads in my village. Off our Cul-de-sac and road through next village. I's awful to drive on, even worse to ride on and when a tractor trailer braked quickly it has left 2 humps at least 2" high:sad:. A rumble strip down the middle of one road and one side of the car rattles at anything over 5mph:wacko:.
A village just down the road had a proper surface put down. Possibly a councillor lives there:evil:.
 

Matthames

Über Member
Location
East Sussex
There is a section on my route that has had this done. At least drivers are a lot more cautious around me, which is a good thing as two wheelers and loose surfaces are not good bed fellows.
 
Globalti said:
It's called top dressing. Come for a ride up here in the Ribble Valley if you want to see what happens to it in a few years when it's starting to go bald in patches, and get dental insurance before you come.

LoL, yup, fill the crevices and dips in hot tar and then cover in loads of white gravel for grip.

Two months later the tar has rolled down by traffic, dips and bigger holes are back and most of the gravel is being picked out of your faceteeth by your dentistnurse.

Remedial and short lived road surface fix. Not seen it done much around here, but I know what some of the Cambridgeshire village guys go through every two or three years. Worst is catching a freshly done surface at the bend at the bottom of a hill. The cars have kindly swept into neat little rows for your front wheel to try and get traction in.
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
The cars have kindly swept into neat little rows for your front wheel to try and get traction in.

You should look where you ride.
 

steve52

I'm back! Yippeee
its usles for filling dips and ruts who ever buys it with our tax payers money isnt getting good value grrrrrrrrrrrrr
 
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OP
Jezston

Jezston

Über Member
Location
London
After some twat doing 50 on the 40 (in fact, currently 10) limit stretch of gravel almost took me out with his buckshot, I decided I HAD to, for my own safety, ride primary for this stretch.

Of course this didn't stop anyone overtaking me, despite me gesturing to the 10mph limit signs as cars approached, and a c*** in a cement mixer decided to bully me back to the side of the road. Sadly I didn't get his reg.

Arrived in this morning to find an email has been sent out by a fellow cyclist to all staff asking them to please stick to the limit. An hour later of him almost certainly being bombarded by anti-cycling bullshit he's retracted his statement to say could you pass slow and wide.

Anyone know if those temporary 10mph limit signs are legally enforceable? Or are they just advisory?
 

g00se

Veteran
Location
Norwich
They did it to street around where I live. The letter from the council was telling us how wonderful this new method was for resurfacing roads - can be done in a day, no need to pull up the old surface, much cheaper for our council tax.

Basically, a quick fix for a few years. the problem is, on a few roads where it was done a year or so ago, it's now patchy and rough. And worse - as my road doesn't get much traffic apart from those living down it and a few roads off of it - traffic isb't great enough to clear the stones. off. So it's like a country path with two properly surfaced ruts and stones and crap everywhere else. And that's 6 months after resurfacing...
 

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