UKC

What are your areas like for potholes?

Its bloody awful around here, witha few small lanes virtually impassable without 4x4. I suppose its not really surprising given the amount of water weve had, but we havent had more than 2 frosts all winter and I always thought it was frost & water that caused them.

More surprising is the amount of seriously big potholes there are on dual carriage ways and other fast roads. The A31 at farnham resembles a B.O.A.T. rather than the 70 mph dual carriage way it should be, and after a trip to Bristol, discovered some really big holes in the M4 that are likely to cause a major accident.

Motorists and cyclists have been moaning about this for years now... how on earth can anyone get anything done about it? I know you can report them etc, but the are forming 20x as fast as they get filled.

Rant over

I wouldn't mind them if they were actually full of pot.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

I was driving down a fairly well made, fast and usually well maintained two-lane road (the A93 as it happens) a couple of years ago. It was dark, no traffic and I was doing about 60, when I noticed what appeared to be the top 8" of a traffic cone in the road, about 1/5 of the way in from the verge, about where I would usually put my nearside wheel.

It wasn't the top of a traffic cone, it was a whole traffic cone, in a rather deep pothole!

I crossed into the oncoming lane to avoid it, safe enough as there was no traffic. Had I put a wheel into it, I think the damage would probably have been rather worse than the usual burst tyre people complain about. Smashed alloys and suspension components scattered all along the road I would imagine.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/hazards/report

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Have to agree Hampshire does seem to have some particularly bad roads in places (and high volumes of traffic). The prolonged damp period has degraded roads very rapidly most likely due to poor drainage/subsidence more quickly eroding existing cracks and defects. This water damage is probably more serious than frost damage.

Report to local borough/county borough for local roads that are not under highways agency responsibility (trunk roads, i.e. A3, M3, A27, M27, M25 etc). Worth reporting but rectification work is very slow to happen.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

It seems that the key to getting them sorted out is to get the Tour de France to come to your area...

In reply to balmybaldwin:

There is a website for reporting potholes and if they are left after reporting the council can be held responsible for damage to your car/bike if you hit it.

On the major roads maintained by the highways agency you can claim damage from them. A friend hit a massive hole in the m5 and had an instant blowout. The tyres were brand new Michelin run flats on a BMW 530touring so cost £270 each. I wonder what the outcome would have been if the tyres weren't runflats?

In reply to balmybaldwin:

great isn't it? What a winter deluge! All I require now is a sharp drop in temperature (a good harsh freeze for a couple of weeks) and I'll have work for a number of years to come, guaranteed.

Do go on to your own council's web site, into the highways section and leave a comment/complaint identifying the hazard.

Contrary to popular belief, 'black top' is not waterproof. It takes on water at about the very same rate as the hide each of you is covered in (skin). Add a frost and hey presto, money for me - woo hoo (beer and peanuts).
It being so cold and wet presently the usual deferred set materials fail to adhere or set so all that can be used for a good repair is hot poured materials which, gawd bless the HSE, have been decreed too dangerous to be transported about in barrels with butane/propane burners applied. Therefore you'll just have to wait a while for the temperature to rise before any meaningful and lasting rebuild can be applied.

Ahh, HSE, the umbrella term relied upon for the work shy. So much so that regular highway inspecting employees are not allowed to carry shovels because they are a danger to health - meaning you could hurt yer back. What a world! so the ditches don't get dug/cleared (joe public is also at fault here with a 'not my problem' attitude)so the water permeates deeper into the road.

Yes (TC), do get the TDF to resurface. I have the commissionaire of the Perfs peddle race (premiere season opener) phoning me presently - no hard ship, he's a personal friend.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Fairly big one here...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-26010192

I think one problem is that cracks in tarmac, and most holes dug, are not repaired properly. They used to seal cracks and the edges of utility holes with a hot bitumen. This seems to have gone out of fashion, so, inevitably, water gets into the crack, and freeze/thaw cycles cause the crack to open up.

Whilst maintenance of cracks could be put down to cost saving, there's no real excuse (IMHO) for utilities not to do (or be forced to do) the job properly; dig the hole and do the work by all means, but don't make good and you get charged for criminal damage...

In reply to captain paranoia:

You're on it Captain.

- that's the stuff that is deemed too dangerous to transport.

for utilities not to do (or be forced to do) the job properly; dig the hole and do the work by all means, but don't make good and you get charged for criminal damage...
London has cottoned on (TfL). The Contractor making the repair/ installing a new service, has a £3K bond applied that is held for 3 years. Which is raising standards, as you can imagine. How many repairs can you make in a year; how many £3k's can you leave bonded??