Clearly my brain is less than fully occupied today....
Having just returned from a trip to the UK from Austria, it's very noticeable that the UK's roads are not as level as those in Europe - travelling on the motorway in the UK, the car always has an up and down unsettled motion where the road surface may be smooth, but not flat. In Germany and Austria, there isn't this feeling because somehow they manage to create not only a smooth but flat surface, even on the equivalent of B-roads. Question: why? Presumably the same road-surfacing equipment is marketed across Europe and it seems unlikely that it's all down to the choice of hardware. Is it a different technique? Different tarmac? Quality of workmanship?
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Foundations better prepared. I use the A1 a bit and many stretches of it have ruts in the left lane which equate to the track of an HGV. Lorries are allowed to be there obviously but is the road structure up to the wear and tear? Otherwise I would describe many of our roads as "Patchy"
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The last time I drove from sweden to england, the german motorways were by far the worse. Some looked (and felt) like they hadn't been repaired since bomber harris last paid them a visit. Rough broken concrete, huge expansion joints, and a terrible washboard effect that made me think the dashboard was going to fall off. And this before they've given all their money to the greeks
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Sicily is good, the motorway there is made from concrete slabs, that were level with and joined together, but have since departed company and are now at different flight levels and cambers
Given sufficient speed you fly from one to the other, in a slight twisting motion, in the manner of eddie kidd.
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>> Given sufficient speed you fly from one to the other, in a slight twisting motion,
>> in the manner of eddie kidd.
I hope you don't land as he did!
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>> The last time I drove from sweden to england, the german motorways were by far
>> the worse. Some looked (and felt) like they hadn't been repaired since bomber harris last
>> paid them a visit. Rough broken concrete, huge expansion joints, and a terrible washboard effect
>> that made me think the dashboard was going to fall off. And this before they've
>> given all their money to the greeks
>>
Not ventured up there, but the ones I use are south of, say, Frankfurt, and they are pretty consistently flat, I can't think of any concrete sections offhand although perhaps the new 6-lane stretch between Augsburg & Munich is come to think of it. Nevertheless it is flat with no expansion joint problems, albeit new.
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I reckon that the Belgian motorways are some of the worst in Europe. Make ours look good.
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I would agree with that! There's one section somewhere round about Mons where the nearside lane has been coned off for years because there are chunks out of the surface! My wife and I reckon they should be pushing chocolate & beer sales so that they have some cash to sort them.
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I've only driven in the UK and Australia, so I don't know what things are like in mainland Europe. The last time I was in the UK was about five years ago, and I couldn't help thinking that your roads are better than ours (with the possible exception of those single track roads with passing places that you get in the more isolated parts of rural Scotland).
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As I don't travel abroad any more, can people here tell me whether UK roads are unique in having their surfaces peppered with so many inspection covers? Invariably, now this are sunken and jar the average car considerably. Even after resurfacing the levels are not now corrected.
Sent from my HTC phone.
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Loads in Austria, but don't seem to suffer the sinking problem, you rarely notice them. Back to my original point, perhaps it's the way the roads are constructed.
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I know one urban express way in Perth (WA) that was built on swampy ground, and ended up like a washboard. They had to dump hundreds of thousands of tons of sand along the sides to try and flatten it out again.
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I remember reading somewhere not long ago that used tyres were being shredded and added to the Ashphalt. This supposedly made the ashphalt go further, harder wearing and improved both grip and road noise, whilst finding the ideal way to dispose of the tyre-mountain.
Did this ever come-off?
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I think a lot has to do with what's underneath. In many parts of the uk it seems to be soft mud. Here it's is mostly rock and well draining. As a result, there aren't anywhere near the number of holes, and many roads are simply resurfaced, rather than rebuilt. As an example, my driveway installed a few years ago is just crushed rock (0-25mm) laid on the ground about 2" thick. No hardcore, kerbs, membrane or whacking required. Just drive over it a few times and it's job done for 20 years.
They also get on with the repairs very quickly, as holes and damage only get worse, especially during the winter. For smaller roads they come along with a truck that sprays molten tar and stones into the holes, which seems very effective. Although the traffic levels are much smaller.
Outside of the large town and cities, manholes are pretty rare, mainly due to houses having individual water (wells) and sewage (septic tanks) and no gas mains. Long distances also mean overhead electric and telephone cables. Where there are manholes, they're usually flush, again probably due to what's underneath.
In fact, everything has to be flush, otherwise the snow ploughs can't do their job, hence no cats eyes either. All road markings are also backed up with signs, as road markings can't be read under snow.
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Living just within the M25 car park and accident test centre as I do, I find the majority of A and B roads are a disaster with respect to scattered, sunken manhole covers (sorry, inspection covers) that are not flush with the road surface.
Also, when re-surfaced as my B road has been done, the quality of the finished product is wavy and not up to scratch. I know stretches of an A road (I think, nr Westerham hill) that has been re-surfaced but left with a poor surface, with respect to adjusting these covers. I I spend all my time trying to avoid them, or position my car so as to straddle them.
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"I spend all my time trying to avoid them, or position my car so as to straddle them."
Surely such a natural and talented driver as yourself should devote a little time to watching where you are going?
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I thought a natural, talented driver with the finest mechanical sympathy know to man, would do it by divine guidance. Having to work at it sounds rather like a mere mortal to me.
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>> "I spend all my time trying to avoid them, or position my car so
>> as to straddle them."
>>
>> Surely such a natural and talented driver as yourself should devote a little time to
>> watching where you are going?
>>
Precisely. That's what a naturally talented driver does do i.e. avoid all the holes and divots in the road ahead - that is part of my natural brilliance and adeptness. Other plebs just drive straight over or through, probably unaware or disinterested in the welfare of the vehicle they're driving.
Sorry but I realise that jealousy is only to be expected here but I'll excuse that and my sympathies go out to all you lesser mortals out there.
Last edited by: Oldgit on Thu 3 Nov 11 at 19:18
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>> grip and road noise, whilst finding the ideal way to dispose of the tyre-mountain.
>> Did this ever come-off?
Yes, and literally as it happens. It was laid on a 1 mile stretch of A road near me ( very expensive houses - complaints of road noise to MP friend etc). It was very smooth and very quiet, till it all started peeling off big time. Right mess. Lots more noise too!
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Road surface quality in the UK - Meldrew
