We have some quite bad potholes locally, even on newly repaired roads.
Interesting article in the Guardian. Others may be available.
tinyurl.com/25jsk2gp
|
According to the Sunday Times my county (Northants) is one of the worst in the country for potholes. After several years of studying them and reading up about road repairs I am convinced there is poor quality control and little or no objective monitoring of the contractor's performance.
Firstly, when a road is resurfaced, if the black stuff is skimped in quality and/or quantity, it won't hold the grit together. I have seen long patches on local main roads, e.g. A14, where several square feet of the top layer (should be at least 40mm - does anyone check?) has peeled off after an unacceptably short time. Secondly, if a pothole or edge repair is to last, proper preparation is vital, a good quaility mix should be used and edge sealing should be done. Again, who monitors this? I have seen repaired potholes begin to crumble within a few weeks because of poor quality. It all smacks of a gravy train - and a strong argument for having an in-house outfit rather than lazily contracting out the work with little or no oversight of both quality and VFM.
|
>> According to the Sunday Times my county (Northants) is one of the worst in
>> the country for potholes.
Another Northants resident here - West Northants. Agree with the thrust of John's post.
The council, going back before the current Unitary structure, has a history of contracting one large well known company to manage the entire operation. They've been failing on the job for years.
The A4500, linking the town with M1/J16, is in an appalling state town bound passing Upton.
Oddly, the westbound side is much better.
Hit a couple of them recently in the village lanes as, focused on conflicting traffic under quite narrow rail bridges.
|
<< ... if the black stuff is skimped in quality and/or quantity, it won't hold the grit together. >>
Exactly the problem with my 'forecourt' which has been laid and relaid by the same guy when his first attempt started breaking up. To my untrained eye it just looks to be short of binder. I am thinking of replacing it with block paving.
But on J-F's other point, it seems obvious that most counties are [a] strapped for cash and [b] under pressure to repair lots of potholes. Predictable result ?
Last edited by: Andrew-T on Sat 11 Apr 26 at 15:37
|
Same here for my driveway. When we moved in the block paving drive had been done on the cheap.
A fitter me lifted and stacked the bricks at the side of the house. broke up the step in front of the house with a sledgehammer and then added drainage in front of the front door to a soakaway that i dug along the fence at the side. (Our driveway slopes toward the house and the poor previous job was cured with the drainage,
Last edited by: ORB>>> on Sat 11 Apr 26 at 15:46
|
Councils are under financial pressure and choose the cheapest tender. All that is visible when the work is complete is a patch of tarmac with no evidence visible of the underlying repair quality.
Paying a little more may improve longevity of repairs substantially. Perhaps it would be better if the councils insisted on a (say) three year warranty, or witheld 25% of the price against a three year inspection.
|
|
I understand edge sealing was ceased some years ago, as it caused a slippery surface for motorbikes when wet.
|
|
It will be even worse then with EVs lol.
|
Potholes - John F
