State of our roads.
Discussion
I'm sure this gets posted every five years or so but the roads of today seem worse than some ex soviet country.
Not just potholes that the council seems to fix by putting a nice yellow box around it. I assume that this is an indication to actually repair it but obviously the message got lost in the post. Roads have more undulating thrills than any theme park and when they do actually do something you either see some disastrous patch work effect like a cheap 1970s granny jumper or that bloody cheap cop out of stone chip.
Main roads are a chicane and getting close to super mario kart 64.
Apart from the roads the signage is impossible to read as no one now seems to clear away hedges or trees so everything is obscured.
I know, I know road tax does not pay for roads and is now excise duty but what the hell is going on out there?
Not just potholes that the council seems to fix by putting a nice yellow box around it. I assume that this is an indication to actually repair it but obviously the message got lost in the post. Roads have more undulating thrills than any theme park and when they do actually do something you either see some disastrous patch work effect like a cheap 1970s granny jumper or that bloody cheap cop out of stone chip.
Main roads are a chicane and getting close to super mario kart 64.
Apart from the roads the signage is impossible to read as no one now seems to clear away hedges or trees so everything is obscured.
I know, I know road tax does not pay for roads and is now excise duty but what the hell is going on out there?
It absolutely drives me mad.
It's compounded by the fact that it often appears (though willing to be corrected) that the people who repair the roads after works/damage couldn't give less of a toss, and they leave the road in an awful state. I think a spot repair and 'fill in' should be forbidden.
Someone once told me that it's down to the underground service system we have in this country. Nip across to the states and the road quality is vastly vastly better (barring very rural areas where it's no particularly surprising).
It's compounded by the fact that it often appears (though willing to be corrected) that the people who repair the roads after works/damage couldn't give less of a toss, and they leave the road in an awful state. I think a spot repair and 'fill in' should be forbidden.
Someone once told me that it's down to the underground service system we have in this country. Nip across to the states and the road quality is vastly vastly better (barring very rural areas where it's no particularly surprising).
Morningside said:
I'm sure this gets posted every five years or so but the roads of today seem worse than some ex soviet country.
Which ex-soviet country did you have in mind? The UK's roads are certainly massively better than Bulgaria's where pot holes big enough to rip wheels off in the middle of the motorway is the norm. 
I think the thing which destroys road surfaces (and indeed just about every other semi-porous surface) is repeated freeze/thaw cycles. I don't know how we compare to the rest of Europe in terms of the total number of free/thaw cycles per year but we're probably fairly high on the list?
Even if the figures are available (which they probably are somewhere) it's hard to judge spending; do you look at spending per square meter of road; spending per mile driven,...?
Even if the figures are available (which they probably are somewhere) it's hard to judge spending; do you look at spending per square meter of road; spending per mile driven,...?
kambites said:
I think the thing which destroys road surfaces (and indeed just about every other semi-porous surface) is repeated freeze/thaw cycles. I don't know how we compare to the rest of Europe in terms of the total number of free/thaw cycles per year but we're probably fairly high on the list?
We have less freeze/thaw than Germany, that's almost for sure. Certainly in the South East where the roads seem even worse than those from my homeland (central Scotland).ThatGuyWhoDoesStuff said:
It absolutely drives me mad.
It's compounded by the fact that it often appears (though willing to be corrected) that the people who repair the roads after works/damage couldn't give less of a toss, and they leave the road in an awful state. I think a spot repair and 'fill in' should be forbidden.
Someone once told me that it's down to the underground service system we have in this country. Nip across to the states and the road quality is vastly vastly better (barring very rural areas where it's no particularly surprising).
Yep, BT/Gas/Electric whoever dig up, and (poorly) reinstate the road, but it's the Highways dept that gets the blame when the surface fails.It's compounded by the fact that it often appears (though willing to be corrected) that the people who repair the roads after works/damage couldn't give less of a toss, and they leave the road in an awful state. I think a spot repair and 'fill in' should be forbidden.
Someone once told me that it's down to the underground service system we have in this country. Nip across to the states and the road quality is vastly vastly better (barring very rural areas where it's no particularly surprising).
Plus ca change...
(Keeps me in work though)
GroundEffect said:
kambites said:
I think the thing which destroys road surfaces (and indeed just about every other semi-porous surface) is repeated freeze/thaw cycles. I don't know how we compare to the rest of Europe in terms of the total number of free/thaw cycles per year but we're probably fairly high on the list?
We have less freeze/thaw than Germany, that's almost for sure. Certainly in the South East where the roads seem even worse than those from my homeland (central Scotland).As has been pointed about above, part of the problem is poor quality road repairs - as soon as you dig up a road and then only relay part of the surface it's much more likely that moisture will make its way into the road and cause it to break apart when it freezes. Personally I'm of the opinion that if companies want to dig up the road, they should be obliged to replace the entire road surface when they've finished not just patch a trench.
Edited by kambites on Monday 24th April 11:50
kambites said:
GroundEffect said:
kambites said:
I think the thing which destroys road surfaces (and indeed just about every other semi-porous surface) is repeated freeze/thaw cycles. I don't know how we compare to the rest of Europe in terms of the total number of free/thaw cycles per year but we're probably fairly high on the list?
We have less freeze/thaw than Germany, that's almost for sure. Certainly in the South East where the roads seem even worse than those from my homeland (central Scotland).Central Scotland is not Eastern Europe or Canada where it is freezing solid for months on end - it thaws and freezes with gay abandon!
GroundEffect said:
Anecdotal evidence suggests much less. Lived in Essex 6 years and the amount of ground-frost is significantly reduced vs the 23 years I lived in Scotland.
Central Scotland is not Eastern Europe or Canada where it is freezing solid for months on end - it thaws and freezes with gay abandon!
True. Central Scotland is not Eastern Europe or Canada where it is freezing solid for months on end - it thaws and freezes with gay abandon!
As someone said above, road quality does vary dramatically by area. Hampshire's roads are mostly pretty good; I haven't driven enough in Scotland to compare.
My local council (West Oxfordshire) were filling potholes on Sunday - the crew doing it were in a truck registered in County Limerick and speaking with the guys doing it they had been subcontracted to do a chunk of the council's work. Only about half the potholes on this particular stretch of road were filled, so a job half done, and I would question how long those that were filled will last. Surely bringing a crew from Ireland (to work on a Sunday) cannot be cost effective?
ThatGuyWhoDoesStuff said:
It absolutely drives me mad.
Nip across to the states and the road quality is vastly vastly better (barring very rural areas where it's no particularly surprising).
Nip across to the states and the road quality is vastly vastly better (barring very rural areas where it's no particularly surprising).
When was the last time you drive in the States? The roads there are dreadful!The UK is, as always, let down by the mentality of doing jobs at the lowest price rather than a minimum quality. I would happily vote for any party that promised it would introduce statutory standards for road condition and repairs
Bennet said:
The trick is to buy something with a degree of suspension travel that's actually suited to the roads you'll be driving on, rather than doing the opposite and then complaining about the roads. Unfortunately.
It's a bit odd that no-one seems to have told car manufacturers (or at least the importers) and wheels are getting ever bigger and tyre profiles ever lower.Bennet said:
The trick is to buy something with a degree of suspension travel that's actually suited to the roads you'll be driving on, rather than doing the opposite and then complaining about the roads. Unfortunately.
Worst is when folks buy big SUVs with nothing more than a thin strip of rubber for tyres. I'm parked next to a big kia/hyundai thing right now which I swear has less rubber on it than my Mx5, and I'm sitting at pretty much head height at the top of its wheel arch 
You don't see Lada shifting cars with anything thinner than a 195/50r15 tyre. Hell most 'normal' cars out east seem to run on a few inches of sidewall. Why we, in the UK subject ourself to the German standard of 19" wheels on 0.5" rubber I will never understand.
Edited by caelite on Monday 24th April 12:43
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