Pot Holes

Very true. There's a 3 lane dual carriage way near here. Part of the motorway box system in London that never got completed.

On the inside lane, just before some traffic lights, two potholes appeared the width of a truck apart. I've lost count how often they've been filled in and re-appeared. Current repair has lasted only a couple of weeks. Luckily, if you know they are there, quite easy to avoid in a car, even staying in the lane. Not so trucks. So it's common to see a truck waiting to turn left blocking two lanes.

Because it's cheaper than being...

Informed the council of a couple of potholes in the road near our drive. Much to my surprise someone came out the next week and painted a neat rectangle around the them. I thought looks they are going to do a neat job cutting back the ragged edges, nope the following day someone came gobbed a pile of tarmac roughly the shape of the rectangle leaving a raised hump that is already starting to break up, why did I bother?

Richard

Because it's quick, cheap, and closes the job.

Agree that the quickfix tarmac isn't a lasting job, but it's probably cheaper doing that repeatedly until the whole road needs redoing, then redoing the road.

Obviously that's councils.

Other utilities seem to be able to mend holes in the road quickly and effectively, but they're financially penalised if they don't.

Owain

Surrey CC has contracted out road works for years. Probably the same with most councils. Perhaps the contractor gets paid per job?

Hot boxing is the system they use here, but unfortunately when a utility digs a hole they do as you suggest, when challenged they say because its temporary and needs to settle, but then nobody ever comes to do it again and we end up footing the bill for it later on by the council.

If they are not removing loose surface back to good then hot filling the hole and sealing the edges and rolling it all then they should be. Brian

The edges should be squared off and hot tar applied to the bottom and sides. Then the tarmac put in and rolled.

Sounds decidedly kinky.

'cause it's quick, cheap and avoids claims for damaged tyres, buckled wheels, bent suspension or some one getting seriously injured or killed as the result of a vehicle losing control after hitting said pothole.

To cut back, seal, and fill with hot rolled tarmac needs dryish, relatively warm weather. Doing such work in the pissing rain or driving snow would be a waste of time and effort.

Perfectly possible for a dedicated repair vehicle to do the work while keeping it completely covered and heating it to dry it first.

SteveW

Sometimes the potholes appear because of underground water movements after heavy rain. There a couple in the slow lane of the M4 heading west in Berkshire, and it looks like they just keep on adding more tarmac because fixing the problem would involve closing 2 lanes on the M4.