State of the roads

[Taipan]

My local roads are dreadful but I blame the repeated cheap, poor quality and unsuitable repairs. They are just infills and not sealed so as soon as it rains the start washing out and once we get icy temps, they water inside expands and breaks them. Complete financial inefficiency by the county councils.

[Ditchfinder]

Each of the local authorites with responsibility for highway maintenance are being under funded by the Conservatives because of their austerity measures in place since Cameron.

If a local authority has to choose between social care and potholes it's always choosing social care.

[Horse]

Each of the local authorites with responsibility for highway maintenance are being under funded by the Conservatives because of their austerity measures in place since Cameron.

If a local authority has to choose between social care and potholes it's always choosing social care.

If all roads with issues were to be resurfaced completely, how many years would that take?

And, of course, no-one would complain about roadworks and road closures

[Supermofo]

My local roads are dreadful but I blame the repeated cheap, poor quality and unsuitable repairs. They are just infills and not sealed so as soon as it rains the start washing out and once we get icy temps, they water inside expands and breaks them. Complete financial inefficiency by the county councils.

Yup stuff either gets repaired cheaply or they'll go the dreaded surface dressing route rather than doing it properly. Within a year both tend to start breaking down and you're back to square one. Must be great for the contractors it's a rolling ticket.

[Cousin Jack]

Each of the local authorites with responsibility for highway maintenance are being under funded by the Conservatives because of their austerity measures in place since Cameron.

If a local authority has to choose between social care and potholes it's always choosing social care.

If all roads with issues were to be resurfaced completely, how many years would that take?

And, of course, no-one would complain about roadworks and road closures

Other countries manage to repair roads without causing the chaos that we manage in this country. They close the lane they are working on, when they are working on it, rather than 5 miles of closure for a fortnight to do 2 days work on 3 short stretches.

[Horse]

And, of course, no-one would complain about roadworks and road closures

Other countries manage to repair roads without causing the chaos that we manage in this country. They close the lane they are working on, when they are working on it, rather than 5 miles of closure for a fortnight to do 2 days work on 3 short stretches.

So you're already complaining


FWIW, you can't "close the lane they are working on, when they are working on it" for the simple reason that you need space in the adjacent lane too.

[Cousin Jack]

I'm already complaining at the stupidity of Councils, on many subjects, including but not limited to, road maintenance.

How do you justify what I saw about a week ago, 3/4 mile of lane closed on a dual carriage way, no sign of workmen, vans, plant or anything else. Just a significant queue.

Or the other, same day, 50 miles away. 1/2 mile lane coned off, 1 van ar one end, no visible activity, 1 van at the other end, 3 men on the (wide) grass verge conferring.

[Horse]

The crew that install the signs and cones aren't the same as the people who remove the old surfacing and put down the new.

You might hope that there would be marvellous synchronised choreography to get things working together. Back on earth ...

Re length of works Vs work being done in them. Ahead of the works there needs to be space for equipment and vehicles to park. Before that, the access point. Before that, a safety zone, then the lane-closing cone taper (length depends, minimum 135m, up to 200m per lane closed). Then advance warning signs starting for short duration works 1 mile before the taper.

And there needs to be space between the works, it's not permitted to have the start of signing for one set at the end of previous works. Just as drivers started to use the lane again, they'd have to move out again.


Edit: above is for high speed roads, 50mph and higher. See TSM Chapter 8. For slower roads, see 'The Red Book'. Differences in signing and lengths apply if longer-duration works. Above is for 'relaxation' works, in low traffic flows installed for limited duration.

[Cousin Jack]

I have no doubt all that is true. However other countries, eg Spain, manage with very different rules.

[Dodgy69]

We've had very little frosts this winter and the roads are worse than ever. It must be rain they don't like. Our road's have just gone the same way as everything else.

[Horse]

I have no doubt all that is true. However other countries, eg Spain, manage with very different rules.

It's unlikely that they'll resurface a full lane width without impacting, some way or another, on the adjacent lane.

I can only tell you about UK works, where there would be a safety margin outside of the work area.

Even if they don't have that, presumably there would still be some sort of demarcation by cones? And they can't be on the bit you're digging out or filling in.

[ChrisW]

There's a particularly bad bit of road that I always veer to avoid on my occasional commute that makes me feel like an F1 driver heading down to Mirabeau from Casino Square, so it's not all bad.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Each of the local authorites with responsibility for highway maintenance are being under funded by the Conservatives because of their austerity measures in place since Cameron.

If a local authority has to choose between social care and potholes it's always choosing social care.

This ^

Fixing road takes money (don't even start with the road tax argument ) and councils don't have any money.

Partly cause they're under funded and partly cause everyone is either old or sick and for some reason we make councils pay for that.

Roads on the back burner for sure.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Councils have plenty of money, it's what they spend it on that's the problem, I love paying council tax so the last useless twats that work for the council have a far better pension than mine.

[Ditchfinder]

Councils have plenty of money, it's what they spend it on that's the problem, I love paying council tax so the last useless twats that work for the council have a far better pension than mine.

The old days of gold plated pensions and retiring at 55 are long gone. I worked local authority for 15 years and left 15 years ago when they removed those benefits. The lower wages were no longer worth putting up with without the benefits.

The generation of workers who retired 10 years ago will still have got those great pensions but please be aware that they aren't available any more.

Sweeping generalisations such as those who work at a local council are useless twats aren't correct or very nice, you could take up your grievances with your local councillors or even better become one if you want them held to account.

[Horse]

Councils have plenty of money, it's what they spend it on that's the problem, I love paying council tax so the last useless twats that work for the council have a far better pension than mine.

Go and work there, then. Sort it all out, get the decent pension

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Oh dear, I wasn't very nice, how sad, never mind.
Maybe if more people made it clear they were unhappy with the shit state of councils they might start doing the things we pay council tax for.

[Mr. Dazzle]

That's the thing though, they do do the stuff council tax is for, s'just that roads are fairly far down the list

I don't quite get why a bunch of the stuff councils do is done at their level (social care and schools basically), but that's the system at the moment.

[Horse]

Oh dear, I wasn't very nice, how sad, never mind.
Maybe if more people made it clear they were unhappy with the shit state of councils they might start doing the things we pay council tax for.

Oooh touchy

So what do you want them to stop paying for that could, instead, resurface roads?

[KungFooBob]

Oh dear, I wasn't very nice, how sad, never mind.
Maybe if more people made it clear they were unhappy with the shit state of councils they might start doing the things we pay council tax for.

Oooh touchy

So what do you want them to stop paying for that could, instead, resurface roads?

Orphanages.