Residents baffled by ‘stop gap’ road repairs – in the rain
RESIDENTS were left shaking their heads at the state of ‘futile’ road patching repairs – carried out on the wettest day of the winter.
The repairs, described as a ‘stop gap’ by roads bosses, were carried out on the morning of January 20 – during the arrival of heavy rain and then snow brought by Storm Christoph.
One resident, who agreed to take the issue up on behalf of neighbours on Daffodil Close and Bluebell Avenue in Helmshore, claimed it would have been ‘better to have done nothing’. Dave Carter, of Daffodil Close, said: “They put fresh tarmac on top of craters filled with water. It was lashing down yesterday (Wednesday).
“Now it’s snowed and the road is covered in bits of tarmac because it’s just been broken up.
“It just seems like a futile attempt to fix it. I would rather they had done nothing – or done it properly. It’s adding insult to injury.”
Dave, who has lived on the road for about 35 years, said two lorries and four Lancashire County Council (LCC) contractors arrived on their close just after 10.30am, leaving within the hour after finishing. He claimed that while the main road at the bottom, Campion Drive, is resurfaced properly, the surrounding side roads like theirs are neglected and precarious in icy weather.
He said: “We have an area of our road that has over 50 blobs of tarmac in the holes. It’s all in bits. The lady across the road mentioned she’s been here for 40 years and never once seen the road done properly.”
Dave contacted Helmshore county councillor David Stansfield, who lives locally and agreed to come and inspect the works and speak to residents.
Coun Stansfield said: “I’ve been there several times over this and I’ve written to Keith Iddon who is the leader of the highways department. I’m not satisfied with the answers. What’s the point of filling potholes when it’s pouring down with rain? When they were done, it was [sitting] proud above the road surface, and the water gets underneath and lifts it all back up again.”
He added: “It happens all over Lancashire. Don’t do it; it’s just time wasted and it’s not cost effective.”
An LCC spokesman said: “We recently carried out some minor repairs on Daffodil Close and Bluebell Way to make safe a number of defects which had been identified. We’re aware that these roads are in poor condition, and as such a resurfacing scheme has been costed and will be considered a priority for a future programme. While the repairs appear unsightly, they are a stop-gap measure to ensure safety until we are able to carry out a full resurfacing scheme.”