Cold Weather: Not Good for Road Surfaces

[Glassman]

Potholes everywhere; I drove down a usually smooth road this morning and almost got stuck in one.

[GTIR]

I was thinking this. I wonder if Sweden and Finland etc have the same problem?

I saw a council muppet on TV explaining why "The cracks in the road get water in and it freezes and forces the cracks bigger blah blah blah"

like thats ok then.

[eharding]

Glassman said:

Potholes everywhere

Indeed - even before the recent snow, most of the local roads are knackered.

There do seem to be parts which have suffered worse than others though - age of the tarmac might be a factor?

[Simpo Two]

Maybe it's rose-tinted spectacles but I don't recall potholes appearing every time there's an inch of snow.

I suspect it's down to lowest tender contracts, and all the money that should have been spent on maintaining the roads being spent on cycle lanes that nobody uses, 'road calming' and all the other leftie st.

[eharding]

thegavster said:

The potholes which appeared the other week have been filled pretty darn quickly around here.

Yes, but that 'white tarmac' they've been filled with...and I hate to break this to you....will be marginally less robust than the papier-mache tarmac the previous contractors used.

[T89 Callan]

I couple of roads near me have just broken-up, huge chunks of tarmac and gravel broken off the surface. Same thing happened in the snow last year.

Anyone know why?

[BliarOut]

T89 Callan said:

I couple of roads near me have just broken-up, huge chunks of tarmac and gravel broken off the surface. Same thing happened in the snow last year.

Anyone know why?

Poor maintenance lets in the water which then freezes and expands breaking up an already damaged surface. It's a byproduct of failing to repair roads properly.

[Ricky_k]

The slip road I use nearly everyday has cracks and is starting to split and one day part of it will be on the dual carriage way.
I have noticed some roads around my area are sinking

[davepoth]

I *think* the reason is that in the UK we use a more porous road surface, as it reduces road noise (The tyres cannot cause air to get compressed) and increases fuel economy. However that then gives room for water to get in which will crack the surface.

I believe that in more northerly countries they use denser asphalt, which doesn't suffer this so badly but does make it noisier.

[andy-xr]

I've been reporting them as soon as is convenient. It might come across that I'm a sad busybody with nothing else to do, and I'd fully agree with that

But if I or any fellow motorists suffered a knackered wheel/suspension because it wasnt reported I'd be pretty pissed off. Our local council have an online form where you can report road defects and they're pretty good at updates

[Grand Master]

andy-xr said:

It might come across that I'm a sad busybody with nothing else to do

Don't be daft. Might as well let your taxes* do something beneficial.

I assume you do not sponge

[Bee_Jay]

You guys should see the roads in Canada, especially Halifax - totally screwed all the time because of the weather... We have it very good over here.

[bazking69]

Even down on the south coast where recent ice and snow has been nominal I have noticed a definate worsening of road surfaces lately and increase it pot holes.

[Jag-D]

Simpo Two said:

Maybe it's rose-tinted spectacles but I don't recall potholes appearing every time there's an inch of snow.

I suspect it's down to lowest tender contracts, and all the money that should have been spent on maintaining the roads being spent on cycle lanes that nobody uses, 'road calming' and all the other leftie st.

Sounds about right!

Paying to appeas lentil munchers and not enough going back into maintaining what the rest of the poplution use!

The roads around here are a fking joke at the moment, it's cringeworthy trying to navigate around Armley/Kirkstall

[mab1]

OMFG - as the snow is being stripped from the roads round here the pot holes are chuffing ridiculous!

Goodbye snow (eventually), hello bent alloys.....

[tribbles]

I still need to get a wishbone because of the large pothole I hit on New Years Day (and they "fixed" the day after). Weather's been too bad to get one.