British Roads

some of the roads around Newcastle are ridiculous. as mentioned here, it seems policy now to just do a half-assed patch on a pothole, dumping in some tarmac and hammering it flat ~ i don't know the full technicalities of road-laying but it seems this approach doesn't create a proper bond, or whatever, cos you can virtually guarantee the next year the frost/ice will get into the same places and create another pothole in the same place. the road to my estate looks like it's been strafed by a Stuka - there's a line of pits and potholes down the centre where it seems the tar laid on the opposite sides didn't bond properly. each year it stays for weeks, gets patched scrappily, breaks up next winter, rinse repeat.
worst example of "fixing" was the resurfacing on a backroad to Killingworth, spend months laying the nexw surface, along comes winter and no word of a lie, the entire surface fragmented into gravel and the whole thing had to be redone.

and on the subject of half-assing and laziness, couple years back by newcastle racecourse there was a big pothole at a r/bout, right where the road was painted w/ the arrow and road number - they patched in and repainted ONLY the bits where the new tarmac had been laid, resulting in the arrow and words being 98% worn and hard to read and 2% pointless fresh paint. seriously, they had the paint and the brushes, why not just redo the whole thing?!
 
wolfie138 said:
some of the roads around Newcastle are ridiculous. as mentioned here, it seems policy now to just do a half-assed patch on a pothole, dumping in some tarmac and hammering it flat ~ i don't know the full technicalities of road-laying but it seems this approach doesn't create a proper bond, or whatever, cos you can virtually guarantee the next year the frost/ice will get into the same places and create another pothole in the same place. the road to my estate looks like it's been strafed by a Stuka - there's a line of pits and potholes down the centre where it seems the tar laid on the opposite sides didn't bond properly. each year it stays for weeks, gets patched scrappily, breaks up next winter, rinse repeat.
worst example of "fixing" was the resurfacing on a backroad to Killingworth, spend months laying the nexw surface, along comes winter and no word of a lie, the entire surface fragmented into gravel and the whole thing had to be redone.

and on the subject of half-assing and laziness, couple years back by newcastle racecourse there was a big pothole at a r/bout, right where the road was painted w/ the arrow and road number - they patched in and repainted ONLY the bits where the new tarmac had been laid, resulting in the arrow and words being 98% worn and hard to read and 2% pointless fresh paint. seriously, they had the paint and the brushes, why not just redo the whole thing?!
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Not my job M8!

Wouldn't surprise me if it was some sort of Unison demarcation BS.
 
wolfie138 said:
worst example of "fixing" was the resurfacing on a backroad to Killingworth, spend months laying the nexw surface, along comes winter and no word of a lie, the entire surface fragmented into gravel and the whole thing had to be redone.
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That was absolutely atrocious. The entire 'resurfaced' road disintegrated into gravel within a few months. Months of work to make the road worse than it was originally. Unbelievable.

The disparity between Northumberland and Durham for road quality is insane as well. Northumberland Council clearly don't have the budget or the inclination to maintain their road network. Crossing into County Durham the roads are immediately of a much higher quality.
 
kinetic747 said:
There are long stretches of motorway all over the country with all the cats eyes or equivalent missing. This alongside poor road marking makes driving in the rain on an unlit stretch interesting. :eek:
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That's basically all roads in Germany...
 
Gigabit said:
British roads are rubbish in a lot of places but the difference I think is the most staggering.

A3 seems quite well maintained, as is the A46 which I was on today. But then you get other large A roads and motorways that are poorly maintained.

Why the massive disparity? Why are our roads still worse than other European countries - assuming tolls must have something to do with it. How well maintained is the M6 Toll?
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The weather and amount of heavy vehicles on our roads plays a large part I think. I don't think anyone would argue against that if roads were maintained as they are now, winter was milder and more goods were shipped via train, the roads would be in a better state. It's not just about cold temperatures either, it's the rainfall combined with this.
 
Orionaut said:
Not my job M8!

Wouldn't surprise me if it was some sort of Unison demarcation BS.
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What a ridiculous comment. It will purely be down to local policy and spending, some idiot decided that only the filled holes would be repainted to save money.
 
kinetic747 said:
There are long stretches of motorway all over the country with all the cats eyes or equivalent missing. This alongside poor road marking makes driving in the rain on an unlit stretch interesting. :eek:
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And many of them are missing as they have tarred and gravelled the roads as a stopgap to resurfacing properly.
 
Dr Who said:
And many of them are missing as they have tarred and gravelled the roads as a stopgap to resurfacing properly.
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There's a section on the M61 after junction 5 I think that has new markings and cats eyes, that's how it should be. Immediately after, the road disappears into nothingness and I found it terrifying on Tuesday morning driving in fog with no distinction between lanes.
 
Dr Who said:
What a ridiculous comment. It will purely be down to local policy and spending, some idiot decided that only the filled holes would be repainted to save money.
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Joking perhaps, but with tongue nevertheless firmly planted in cheak...

Back in the early/mid 70's. Something like a "Pot hole filler" carrying out a task that should have been the purview of a "White line painter" would have been precisely the sort of nonsense that would have resulted in a massive industrial dispute.

(I am sure I recall a massive "Red Robbo" Leyland strike that came about as a result of a "Painter" being asked to empty a waste paper basket.)

Hopefully there is less of the sort on monumental stupidity going on today.

But with the Public sector being the last bastion of unionitis, who knows what still goes on...:/
 
I am sure you read all the right publications to be outraged by the actions of unions and how they destroy British industry but when you think of those things and feel aggrieved also think about:

2 Day Weekends
Maternity Pay
Retirement ages
Health and Safety
Employee Pensions
Paid Holiday
Equality Laws
Rights in the case of illness, marriage and pregnancy
Pay Rises
Minimum Wage
and many many more.

Not to mention not being forced to do work that you are not trained and contacted for.....

Mind you a lot of those things will likely be destroyed after the tories "take back control" of our country!

The reason the roads don't get repaired properly is NOTHING to do with unions and EVERYTHING to do with Political Austerity to fund tax cuts for business.
 
Orionaut said:
But with the Public sector being the last bastion of unionitis, who knows what still goes on...:/
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Potholes are usually filled by contractors, who are very likely to carry it out exactly to spec rather than doing the job properly. In fact, it's far more likely to be due to privatisation that your imagined demons of the public sector.
 
Mr Jack said:
Potholes are usually filled by contractors, who are very likely to carry it out exactly to spec rather than doing the job properly. In fact, it's far more likely to be due to privatisation that your imagined demons of the public sector.
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Exactly!
 
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