Has anyone noticed the decline of the general highway condition in this country or is it just me? The roads have always been full of defects and in general poor condition for as long as I can remember but in the last few years the general conditions seem to be far worse than ever before. I find my self regularly having to avoid defects such as sunken grids, surface deterioration amongst others that are so bad they would actually damage a motor vehicle. In my experience when defects are reported very little if nothing at all is done.
Only recently I had to take my local authority to the small claims court after they refused to pay up for a damaged tyre and front suspension arm. I did win the case but the defect has still not been repaired! It surely has come to something when vehicle tracking seems to be way out of alignment after a mere 800-1000 miles. Are the highways in desperate need of immediate attention or am I just being fussy?
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You are by no means the first to notice that our highways and by-ways are a disgrace, both locally and nationally.
I think we've all got a pretty good idea as to just why.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Obvious that the money is going elsewhere - humps and senseless speed reduction schemes for one. Local council lied to me when they said the traffic harming scheme I was objecting to in my area would be part of an overall improvement scheme to the roads. The roads are otherwise never touched.
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Yes, it is very true, and now many A roads are being secretly detrunked, a load have just been handed over from the Highways Agency to Local Councils, who are then given 6 figure sums to wreck them with more "Bus quality partnerships and bus stop strategies", traffic lights and such things, thus making the major trunk road into a 'local community' road for all persons to enjoy regardless of background.
I have seen roads resurfaced in recent years, some taken back down to soil and completely relaid at huge cost, and they are already crumbling and have sunken manholes due to substandard work and materials.
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UK roads complete rubbish shock story. ;o)
I've noticed it for a while and I'm not particularly old.
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I actually think that road condition is partly responsible for the rise in 4x4 soft roaders. It just goes to show once again that the logic the councils use when planning & maintaining the roads is beyond belief at times. I would hate to live near a bus lane or in an area where there are speed humps. The increase in noise and pollution from cars queing would be awful.
In terms of the general condition of roads I think I am correct in saying that most manufacturers conduct extra tests so their cars can ride ok on UK roads (I stand to be corrected though).
Once again in the UK we have the most expensive motoring taxes in the modern world and probably the worst (and hence unsafe) roads.
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Completely agree. The number of huge chunks missing from the tarmac round here is mind-boggling. Where do they go? The surfaces around the 'shoulders' of T-junctions seem particularly vulnerable to disintegration, making pulling out on a left turn something of a challenge. There's one near me which is impossible to pull out of without going in and out of a hole, not something you should be worrying about when completing a manoeuver. My suspension's fragile enough as it is! When you routinely re-plan routes to avoid road defects as well as speed humps, you know they're in a bad way.
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A couple of miles from where I live the council closed a road for something like 13 weeks for "restructuring". I went down a few times on my bike and there was little in the way of activity, but all the equipment, including one of the large scraping and surfacing machines, was left on site. When the road finally reopened they had reconstructed one very rough, sunken section and resurfaced another section, and left the rest. The remaining sections are full of patches and broken tarmac. I'm no expert, but surely the marginal cost of simply resurfacing the rest of the road whilst all the plant was on site would have been very little?
I have started reporting road faults via the County Council web site and they usually patch any significant potholes or ruts the next day.
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The main road that runs parallel to my road was resurfaced a few months ago, the method being to lay tar down and then cover the surface with stone chippings.
Apart from the damage done to cars and other vehicles from the loose chippings for some time afterwards, much of the surface itself quickly wore down to the tar area especially at busy junctions.
As a result the work had to virtually all be redone.
A complete and utter waste of time and money.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I can bottom out 130mm suspension forks on my mountain bike in the potholes around Leeds. :)
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Jonno is right, it is a sad state of affairs when certain roads have to be avoided and when planning routes the quality of the highways have to be taken into account! There are roads near me that by the time you reach the end the vehicle tracking is knocked out of alignment. If the situation gets much worse we will soon need a 4x4 just to get around soon.
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We need a Minsiter for Roads. I suggest Mr Prescott, rumour has it he may be a bit bored from now on...
I have noticed that in the last few years the roads in France have got worse. Although they are still by and large better surfaced than UK.
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I recently wrote to Amey, who have the contract for the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh about the state of the road and some specific defects. Undernoted is their reply, it basically seems to suggest that they will do what they can with the funding they are given!
I refer to your e-mail communication of 27 March 2006 to our Head Office Enquiry Section, regarding the quality of the road surface on the M8 between Junction 6, Newhouse, and Edinburgh. Amey Infrastructure Services manage and maintain the M8 on behalf of Transport Scotland and I have been asked to reply to you as a member of our Traffic Liaison team.
You ask for our 'service standard' for this section of road and I am happy to offer a brief outline in relation to your complaint. Our contract requires us to undertake weekly safety inspections of the M8 and, when defects are identified, take action according to a number of criteria. The highest (1:1) category is a defect posing an immediate safety hazard, then 1:2, a risk of rapid structural deterioration, followed by lesser faults classified as High, Medium or Low priority, depending on the Class of road, their nature, position on the carriageway and other factors. The highest category requires immediate 'make safe' action, up to and including lane or even road closure, lesser defects require us to commence repairs within set timescales or to address them in planned programmes of works. While immediate 'make safe' repairs, including emergency patching and the like, are Amey's contract responsibility, larger repairs and refurbishment is a funding matter for our client, Transport Scotland.
I can confirm Amey are aware of both the defects you identify - I travel the M8 daily myself - and that we have undertaken a succession of repairs, both temporary and 'permanent'. Unfortunately, neither of these are simple surface defects but are visible signs of deeper structural failure that require major works at both locations to resolve properly. The situation at the Variable Sign approaching Junction 6 is further complicated by the presence of traffic sensors and cables in the carriageway. Many other sections of the M8 are also showing significant deterioration, consistent with up to 30 years of heavy use but once again, the major refurbishment necessary - such the two sections we completed last year between junctions 3 and 4, is a funding matter for Transport Scotland.
I trust that's of assistance but I would finally draw attention to the Transport Scotland Freephone Helpline, on 0800 028 1414 to enable the public to report specific faults and hazards. All calls to this number are logged, investigated and actioned as appropriate.
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We need a Minsiter for Roads. I suggest Mr Prescott, rumour has it he may be a bit bored from now on...
good idea minister of holes and "he is looking into it" :-)
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I think he's holed up in Hull at present keeping out of the way...
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I'm absolutely disgusted by the state of our roads. Several decades ago when I used to travel the near continent extensively by car I always appreciated coming back to England where the road surfaces, then, seemed to be so much better.
However, today, this is not the case and I spend much of my time wending, what must seem to other drivers, a drunken course trying to straddle the worst of the potholes and sunken inspection covers (where this is humanly possible).
I have reported many local defects to my appropriate council office and have received acknowledgements of same, however I don't suppose much action will be taken.
I have noticed that local councils seem to spend an inordinate or disproportionate amount of time and effort in maintaining pavements and replacing the old flagstones with fiddly brick paviours which seem to have a short shelf life as these seem to sink soon after laying.
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The autobahn seems much smoother compared to British Motorways which feel much more undulating.
The Romans made or roads straight, but it seems we need the Germans to help us make them flat..
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