New roadwork revolution

SOMETIMES the difference in scale between American problem-solving and ours here in Europe is just embarrassing. France faced huge wildfires along the Riviera last month and their twin-prop Canadair 415s – also known as “bombardiers” – did valiant work dumping seawater on the flames.

This week LA had its own brush fires to contend with. So they dispatched their own bombardiers – huge jetliners with converted baggage holds brimming with hundreds of thousands of gallons of fire retardant. It’s a bit like comparing a hatchback armed with a fire extinguisher to a tanker lorry full of wet sand and a massive pressure hose to deliver it. The Yanks don’t do things by halves. Which is why North Korea’s Kim needs to tread very, very carefully. BACK in London for August and early September and deserted summer roadworks and road closures reign supreme. Much the same as in Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Cones, barriers, weakly flashing orange lights and not a sign of even a single bloke with a shovel.

Down here in France it couldn’t be more different. Maybe it’s the lingering spirit of revolution but French motorists simply won’t take it. If there are no workmen on the scene, drivers here simply kick the cones aside and drive through. That means road workers have learned to second-guess the revolutionaries and ensure they switch off temporary traffic lights at the end of the working day and push the cones on to the pavement. They also work like honey bees and get the job done in the flashest of flashes compared to their British counterparts.

So it’s hugely encouraging to hear that the end of “phantom” roadworks in the UK could be in sight as ministers consider charging utility companies by the hour for digging up roads. Firms avoid the penalties if they work at night or at weekends and collaborate with other companies so areas are not repeatedly dug up. Local councils monitor them and will have the power to kick behinds and impose fines if work is unnecessarily delayed. This is unprecedented stuff in Blighty. Vive la revolution!