Potholes

Fri 27 May 2011, 13:32

I've wondered about the Enstone Road cross roads too, they seem to have stopped right before the area of highest traffic crossover and some of the biggest holes! Maybe it's because they parked their big machines just by the bus stop and blocked their visibility of the holes at the junction...

Though me and my bike do like the newly smooth and quiet ride down to the Coop now, more like a speed trial less like a forestry commission track.

Mon 23 May 2011, 18:56

Have they finished on the Endstone Road! There still appears to be a large hole in the centre of the crossroads, and a fairly ropey surface!

Sorry to many!!

Sun 15 May 2011, 18:06

Philip, I contacted OCC for you but that was a bit ago. Anyway, I'm very glad they have produced some money at last.

Sun 15 May 2011, 17:36

As a follow up to my earlier postings, we EVENTUALLY received an offer of compensation from OCC (albeit not the full amount), BUT only after writing to our MP.

Thu 5 May 2011, 23:50

If the country wishes to save money, make all B roads 50mph, all A roads 60mph, motorways 70mph, saving lives, money and removing the blight of all these signs which are required to enforce any prosecution. Is this too radical for our masters?

Thu 5 May 2011, 22:40

I'd assumed the reduction in the speed limit was to help reduce the damage to our cars from the rapidly degrading road surface ;-)

I agree the endless speed limit signs are a blight on the surroundings, though unfortunately they're a legal requirement wherever it's not a 30 or 60 speed limit.

Wed 4 May 2011, 21:58

I wonder just how much OCC has spent in the past few months on new speed limit signs rather than attend to the appalling state of the roads? How much did it cost to extend the 30 limit some 200 metres up the Woodstock Road? The 40 limit between Charlbury and Spelsbury is a farce too!

Can we not adopt a more sensible approach like some other EU countries where the entrance to a town or village is marked by a sign and a 50 Kmh (30mph) limit applies until the exit is reached, (less on many residential side roads). Any non-urban single carriageway rural road automatically carries a 90Kmh / 56mph limit. All this is achieved without the need for lots of expensive ironmongery. Likewise pedestrian crossings in towns and villages do not always need to be light controlled do they? Such measures would leave a greater proportion of available funding to be spent on the road surface itself.

Safer roads start with a safe surface to drive / ride / cycle on, not loads of signs and other paraphenalia. Maybe OCC has a conspiracy to stop mending roads and revert to the days when someone had to walk in front of a motor vehicle with a red flag!

Sat 9 Apr 2011, 08:43

I wonder how long it will be after the Enstone Road is resurfaced before it is dug up again for someother utility service to repair something!!!!!!

Wed 6 Apr 2011, 09:37

I have just been told that re-surfacing of Enstone Road is scheduled to happen between May 9th and 27th - not that it will take that long to do but that it will be done sometime between those two dates.

Tue 5 Apr 2011, 21:19

Harriet, you are absolutely right. I had a job pre-university making and mending roads for my local council, and we were taught this and did it scrupulously. We were direct labour and were properly supervised from 'the office'.

The advantage of not sealing the join is that the road breaks up again in a few weeks or months and the contractor is given the job again (and paid again). It is clear that supervision is very poor. We'd never have got away with it.

Did I say advantage? Well, advantage to the contractor. Of course it means that council tax is squandered on shoddy work, libraries close and care for the elderly is cut back. All, literally, for a ha'porth of tar. No advantage to you or me, then.

Tue 5 Apr 2011, 19:48

At the parish meeting last Friday I asked our county councillor to find out when the resurfacing would begien, which he promised to do. I haven't heard back yet though

Tue 5 Apr 2011, 17:08

If they are not going to resurface the Enstone Road for at least another month possibly 3 months, shouldn't County Highways be carry-ing out some urgent temporary repairs to the appalling surface within days!?!

Tue 5 Apr 2011, 14:51

My understanding was that it was due to take place in the next month. Certainly the "planned roadworks" site at voyager.oxfordshire.gov.uk/network.aspx is listing possible works up until 2nd May, 20th June, or 11th July depending which entry you believe!

Tue 5 Apr 2011, 14:41

What has happened to the long promised resurfacing of the Enstone Road following the completion of the gas works?

Thu 24 Mar 2011, 22:25

Attending the meeting all depends upon my state of health and childcare needs on the evening! What Cllr Owen's needs is a detailed report from his road engineers clearly instructed to look into the chemistry and stone sizes of road cuttings to cope with extreme (cold AND hot) and make recommendations not based on accustomed use and practice (road engineers are REALLY conservative!!!) but on "what if" calculations so we don't end up with longer term wasted expenses or degraded surfaces. I've long forgotten British and Canadian technical details and have only brushing acquaintance with European practices where of course extremes of the continental climate make these problems part of the normal course of road engineering. Surely one of our county councillors can raise this question to get a report in progress within the next week or so?

Thu 24 Mar 2011, 15:33

Why don't you come to the Parish meeting on April 1st and then you would have an opportunity to ask Neil Owen about it and make suggestions as to how he can make sure that the right thing will be done.

Wed 23 Mar 2011, 18:34

40 years is a long time to forget details of the tarmacadams we used to make up on site in monster laying machines! I'm in no position to brief anyone anymore but think that some pointed questions and a briefing paper on choices and costs should be brought to the attention of relevant officers and councillors so that we do some thinking about what future climactic extremes are likely to be throwing at us. For example, the repeated heating of the western arctic area north of the Atlantic leading to prolonged freezes here in the east is one of the strongest modelled predictions - and over the last decade we have seen this borne out. We can't afford to rebuild roads every two years so we need to get it right on the basis of the information that we have now.

Tue 22 Mar 2011, 23:27

The road mending is the responsibility of OCC so perhaps you should contact Neil Owen, the county councillor, to brief him on what is the correct surface and the best way to do the work.

Tue 22 Mar 2011, 21:55

Councillors?? There is no point in doing work that will be wasted money for want of a bit of what-if planning aforethought....

Tue 22 Mar 2011, 00:45

Councillors some homework is required toot de sweet before things go to far...

Sun 20 Mar 2011, 15:54

Agree that they are not repairing roads properly and I have had a shouting match with a contractor about just that in The Slade and contacted the council (and I noticed that they stripped the join!). Lowest bid tendering means you get monkeys. But going back to my experience of actually building roads as part of a road crew in my youth there were different grades of tar and fineness of macadam stone plus some additives I remember not what they were that were used on different grades of roads and I know the formulations differ from region to region. Normally with the south and midlands equitable climate this isn't much of a problem but with the probability of extremes different formulations and stone sizing may be called for to future proof roads as much as possible. One benefit is that you usually get a much finer and smoother surface from frost graded tarmacadam but it can leave you a bit compromised with regards to heavy vehicles and their axle weights in an extreme highs. I don't remember what formulations and fining grades were called after 40 years!!

Sun 20 Mar 2011, 13:01

Surely all they need to do is to go back to putting a thin strip of tar along the edge of repairs in order to seal tgap between old surface and new surface like they used to? That way the repair is waterproofed, no water can get in and there is no freeze/thaw action.
In actual fact when I did roads as part of my geology degree, this was something we were told was done. None of the recent repairs have this.

Sat 19 Mar 2011, 22:33

I am going to repost this here as it is more relevant to the impending recoverage of the Enstone Rd in the potholes thread and maybe some councillor may pick it up to enquire into:
May I suggest that they use tarmacadam formulated to withstand freezing temperatures better? Global warming means, perversely, that the North Atlantic Oscillation will occur more often and reach further south so we can expect much more common incidences of prolonged subzero temperatures. Northern USA states, and provinces in Canada, have roads that do not fall apart with every freeze (and they have to contend with regular summer temperatures that are outliers here although that may also change as summer and winter weather gets more extreme) so could the councillors raise some pointed questions over what they are going to tarmac the road with for longest life given climate change possibilities/contingencies?

Tue 15 Mar 2011, 14:40

There is a record on www.fixmystreet.com of the Enstone Road potholes being reported on December 1st. This website sends details of reported problems to the council responsible, in this case OCC highways dept. So unless there was a glitch, they definitely received a report ahead of Jan 8th.

Fri 11 Mar 2011, 18:58

Philip, I reported that particular pothole on the Oxfordshire Council pothole reporting site. I'm not sure of the date. It was probably later than Jan 8th, but it's nevertheless worth asking them to check their records.

Fri 11 Mar 2011, 17:15

Apologies Malcolm, it's a while since I have been on the Forum. I used the links referred to in earlier posts by AC and CB.

Just received a letter today rejecting the claim saying that they did not know about the problem and therefore were not liable.

I have evidence that Lib Dem District councillors had contacted them. Next stop councillors, followed by insurance company as we have legal expenses cover. I'm tempted to withold my council tax!

Mon 31 Jan 2011, 23:04

We got a notched steering rack so does the comment made by Philip mean that people can make a claim against the road authority for damage repair? I'd not realised that such claims could be made. Innocent unlitigatious me eh. Could Philip tell us who and how he went about making a claim?

Fri 28 Jan 2011, 20:54

We're not that bad in finstock.

Thu 27 Jan 2011, 21:19

Too late for us! Wrecked car suspension evening of Jan 8 in the potholes on Enstone Road by entrance to /exit from Wychwood Paddocks.
Over £700 damage. Claim lodged with OCC. Roads around Charlbury would not be out of place in a third world country!

Mon 17 Jan 2011, 11:41

Ho ho!!! And who are the landlords, pray? Folks in Finstock, I hear. That dreadful place :) Over to you, Mike, to go door to door till you track 'em down.

Simpler to get WODC to write to the tenants? Or maybe the police would call(!!!)? Blocking the highway is just as much an offence if it's a footpath as if it is a road.

Sun 16 Jan 2011, 19:39

Ho, ho !!! Oh dear, I've rather ducked that one I must admit. Surely the landlords should have a word ? (says she cravenly !!)

Sun 16 Jan 2011, 18:57

District Councillor to the rescue! Excellent. Any chance now of getting the wheely bins off the pavement in Fisher's Lane? I gather neighbours and other users of that pavement have remonstrated with the tenants concerned but to no avail. Blocking the pavement to all users is NOT an option.

Sun 16 Jan 2011, 18:23

Yes, but I didn't get the same reply. As I said below, I told them (on Fri. a.m.) it was dangerous---he said he had looked before Christmas and I said it had got a lot worse and it was dangerous now. So---as I said in my post below, they came out to see on Fri. afternoon and put a temp. filling in at 6p.m. (with a promise of a more permanent one next week---we shall see).
I'm not trying to get Brownie points for this and also feel slightly worried that I got this reaction (possibly ) because I said I was a district councillor---seems wrong to me---they ought to have done the same for anyone reporting it.

Fri 14 Jan 2011, 23:37

I got the same reply as several others about the Enstone Road repair situation, so perhaps later, when the road has been excavated by the gas board, we can expect a good repair.

Hooray!!

Fri 14 Jan 2011, 21:43

I received this email from OCC today. I sent the request past midnight last night.

Mr Robson,
Thank you for your enquiry regarding the state of the Enstone Road in Charlbury.

This road is due to be resurfaced this year, following some works which will be carried out by the gas board. The resurfacing can not take place until they have completed their works, which is why the road hasn't been resurfaced sooner. In the mean time, we have a Safety Inspector who is looking at this road regularly to instruct for any urgent defects to be repaired.

Regards,

Katie.

Katie Walther

Local Highway Representative (West)
Highways & Transport
PO Box 842
OXFORD
OX1 9LL

Tel: 0845 310 11 11
Fax: 0845 606 96 28

Fri 14 Jan 2011, 18:23

HOT NEWS----as I said earlier, I rang the road steward (weird title !) this a.m. Went out this afternoon and, on returning (c.5p.m.), found cones on the worst portholes and white marking. Heard a noise just now (6.10p.m.) and lots of flashing lights. Went out and found workmen filling the holes. One of the men doing it said he agreed they were in a v. bad state and this was just temporary 'for the weekend'. He said he hoped something more permanent will happen next week. Watch this space !

Fri 14 Jan 2011, 15:52

Suggest that the so called County Council "safety inspector" should have gone to specsavers over a year ago, If he is "looking at this road regularly". The Enstone Road has been in an atrocious condition for over a year and is now getting more dangerous by the day.

Fri 14 Jan 2011, 14:58

You can register potholes by going to www.fixmystreet.com. I've just reported a massive pothole at the end of Park Street.

Fri 14 Jan 2011, 14:47

I spoke to the road steward at Highways this morning. He told me that they had inspected the Enstone Road potholes before Christmas and didn't regard them as dangerous so were going to sort them our when the gas repairs were done. Normally I would think that was sensible as one often complains about money being wasted becasue work is done and swiftly undone.
However, in this case I think the road is really dangerous. The two worst potholes are outside my house (not why I'm concerned !) and I see people swerve to avoid them Also, having been away only six days last week, I was alarmed to see how much the road has deteriorated in that time. Also the OCC official was not able to tell me when the gas repairs were going to be done so this situation might go on for ages.
When I said that I thought the road was dangerous he said they would send out another team to assess the situation. Let's hope they decide something must be done.

Fri 14 Jan 2011, 10:37

The prompt response I received from the Oxfordshire highway enquiries:
""
Thank you for your enquiry regarding the state of the Enstone Road in Charlbury.

This road is due to be resurfaced this year, following some works which will be carried out by the gas board. The resurfacing can not take place until they have completed their works, which is why the road hasn't been resurfaced sooner. In the mean time, we have a Safety Inspector who is looking at this road regularly to instruct for any urgent defects to be repaired.
""

Thu 13 Jan 2011, 15:51

They have obviously taken your concerns seriusly (and quickly) they were out filling holes a the Enstone Road/Slade junction this morning! I am sure the stuff with not last long though, only looks like a quick patch up job!!

Thu 13 Jan 2011, 11:01

The potholes are indeed terrible! There's a pothole reporting site here. Can I encourage people to use it: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/portal/publicsite/reportproblem.

Thu 13 Jan 2011, 09:44

We've just sent the following letter to highwayenquiries@oxfordshire.gov.uk:

The pothole situation in Charlbury has gone from being lamentable to downright hazardous. As you will see from the attached photos showing the junction of The Slade with Enstone Road, there are now massive chunks of surface road missing. This doesn't only impact on vehicle safety, in terms of potentially causing punctures, it also means that accidents may easily arise from the distraction caused to drivers. Much of the rest of the Enstone Road down into Charlbury is also in a very broken-up condition but I strongly and formally advise the council to look into this matter forthwith to avoid being prosecuted for negligence should a serious incident occur.

Anyone else feel strongly about the potholes?