BB Road "Repairs" decimated within hours

[megilleland]

BBC H&W News today:

 

Flood-damaged roads will 'cost millions' to repair

 

Repairing flood-damaged roads across Herefordshire and Worcestershire is set to cost millions, councils have said. Both counties were hit by widespread flooding during the wettest winter on record.

 

Worcestershire County Council has ring-fenced £700,000, while Herefordshire Council estimated it would cost £2.85m to fix potholes and other defects.

 

They said they were committed to "long-term" fixes for the problems.

 

'Huge challenge'

Worcestershire County Council highways manager Jon Fraser told the BBC the authority had already mended more than 800 potholes in the last fortnight. "There are 23 gangs working on this at the moment, that's nine or ten more than usual. We are attacking them as fast as we can," he said.

 

Herefordshire Council's Highways Manager Clive Hall said it had identified 1,800 problems on its road network. He claimed the estimated repair cost was likely to increase as more damage was identified. "It is a huge challenge," he said.

 

How are the council going to find the money for this? This neglect of our highways has being going on for years with the contract money being siphoned off for private organisations and their shareholders.

[gdj]

 

BBC H&W News today:

 

 

How are the council going to find the money for this? This neglect of our highways has being going on for years with the contract money being siphoned off for private organisations and their shareholders.

 

 

Many of the public spending cuts have a serious effect - but mostly on individuals receiving worse health, education, housing or social care, or less access to services via public transport.  You could drive or walk around most places without the spending cuts really being obvious.

 

Potholes are one of the few very obvious negative affects and so they get a lot of attention.   It is a difficult dilemna though, because all those who are invisibly suffering in the recession shouldn't be forgotten.  

 

Having said all that,  there has got to be an optimum level of maintenance which accepts that you will never remove all potholes but prevents the situation reinforcing itself (HGVs, tractors etc hitting and expanding potholes) so much that the saving by not doing something now is exceeded by the cost of the extra damage caused by not doing it.  And that optimum level should be what is in the Balfour Beatty contract - the contract should have a fixed fee for maintaining roads at a certain level of quality, not an amount per call out or tonne of asphalt laid.  Make them work efficiently.

 

I like the fact that the HCC highways manager is called `Hall'.  Do his mates call him `Pot`?

 

gdj

[Biomech]

To surmise megilleland's post;

 

Worcester council have kept on top of things, they have already fixed 800 potholes in 2 weeks and will be spending 0.7 million on repairs

 

Hereford council have shat away all the money and cut corners, they have spotted 1,800 problems but have done nothing about them and will now be spending 2.85 million on "repairs"

[twowheelsgood]

There are 2000 miles of road in the County, divided by 1800 = 1 pothole every 1.11 miles. Really? I don't think so. Conservatively, lets say there was was one every 100 yards, that’s 176 x 2000 = 352 000 potholes. Of course, they may have 'identified' 1800 holes, but for sure there are thousands more waiting to be 'identified' and as fast as they bodge-fill them they fail again.

 

Interestingly, exactly 12 months ago, the council were saying more or less the same thing, and the  Government gave them £2.4m in the aftermath of ice and flooding. Where this went, goodness knows.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-21361614

[flamboyant]

TWG I hear the Holme Lacy road is repaired and open ahead of schedule! Wonders really will never cease. Lol

 

Cllr Kenyon did you ever get to the bottom of BBLP contract? Not sure these issues are going away anytime soon. The rumour mill is in full swing and the word on the street is .... BBLP are about to take over all the calls for Highways defects cutting out the Council! If this is true the Council will have no control over our Highways we won't know the number of reports coming in the amount of jobs raised or the number of repairs completed against those reports? Are we really considering this? 

[flamboyant]

Cllr Chappell thank you for your response, could you please clarify the following please

 

How many operatives were answering calls on the 11th and 18th of Feburary in the Councils call centre?

To clarify I have done some research and I'm told that the emergency planning department don't take calls and there isn't a switchboard at the Council any longer all call go through the call centre. I'm not sure of the exact dates of the switch over to the call centre but even prior to the switch the calls would have gone to the call centre from. Switchboard anyway. 

 

My sources also tell me the call centre was extremely short of staff,  5-6 officers fielding 100s of calls and only 5 fully trained members of staff available because of recent redundancies in the department.

 

Which begs the question in an emergency situation are the Council fully staffed to deal with an emergency/ disaster situation? 

[twowheelsgood]

I saw that the road had reopened - I assume they've gone for the cheap bodge option rather than the extensive works we were told were required. BB had no telephones for several months after taking over the desks in the Rotherwas shed - this is the mentality we're up against. No one thought to go and buy a box of £10 mobiles. Pointless phoning in defects - no record - use fixmystreet.com for an independent log which can't be 'lost'. I'm sick to death of the state of this County's road - hard to see how much worse it can get. Why councillors aren't banging heads together and DEMANDING that its sorted I don't know. Perhaps they're just in it for the free shiny  computers and Twix's (see Hereford Heckler).

[flamboyant]

TWG, BB are still not contactable by Phone.

 

The Council have 1 emergency number for BB which can only be used for emergency reports they have been given no other direct numbers. During the recent floods the call centre struggled to get through to that number because it was constantly engaged!

 

The Council send reports from customers through to BB via their electronic system, the one that doesn't work! They don't get updates on those reports like they used to because the system is not fit for purpose.

 

I hear there are 500 emails sitting on the Council Servers waiting to be dealt with by the 5 staff I mentioned above in between the 100s of calls they take. The majority of those emails are road issues. Someone will be seriously injured or worse killed before the Council do anything. I know staff warned Senior Managers of the dangers of cutting staff in the call centre but they refused to listen. They didn't listen because if they hadn't cut those staff they wouldn't have been able to increase the salaries of the two Managers. 

 

It is also rumoured that BB want to take over incoming calls regarding road issues. My guess is if it's true the Council will jump at the chance. They will then have no control over our Highways no way of knowing the amount of jobs coming in or the work being completed. By keeping the reports coming in to the Council at least they can track the number of complaints and will know when a job hasn't been done. If we give them complete control we will lose that information.

 

So there you have it we are as B47 would say doomed!

[Roger]

This is the 'fixed' pothole in Penn Grove Road by the College Road junction. The picture is slightly deceptive because it still looks like a hole when the Council pothole map clearly shows it as a blue dot which means 'fixed' ... 

[Biomech]

That's not a pothole Roger, you want to head down to the front entrance to Dunelm/Halfords, there are about 3 holes there that look to be about 15" deep!

[Roger]

That's not a pothole Roger, you want to head down to the front entrance to Dunelm/Halfords, there are about 3 holes there that look to be about 15" deep!

 

Yup ... Seen those! People will be aware that you can report these holes online but in the City you must get at least one Council truck going down roads by Dunelm, or wherever, every day of the week so their own employees could report these holes. 

[ragwert]

I saw that the road had reopened - I assume they've gone for the cheap bodge option rather than the extensive works we were told were required. BB had no telephones for several months after taking over the desks in the Rotherwas shed - this is the mentality we're up against. No one thought to go and buy a box of £10 mobiles. Pointless phoning in defects - no record - use fixmystreet.com for an independent log which can't be 'lost'. I'm sick to death of the state of this County's road - hard to see how much worse it can get. Why councillors aren't banging heads together and DEMANDING that its sorted I don't know. Perhaps they're just in it for the free shiny  computers and Twix's (see Hereford Heckler).

Went past today.Looks like they have tarmac'd a 200 yd stretch of road.

The potholes on the B&Q B&M access road are now a serious danger to motorcyclists cyclists etc to the extent that if anyone hit the big one square on they have a good chance of serious injury or even death.

[dippyhippy]

Yes, I completely agree. I was up there on the weekend and it's beyond dangerous. How cyclists and motorcyclists manage to navigate around our roads in general, is beyond me...I certainly wouldn't like to try. I used to cycle a lot, but have done this less and less over the past 5 years or so.

Cycling around Hereford needs to be classified as an extreme sport!

[Roger]

This hole got filled in Moreland Avenue today. I'll keep you updated as to how long the 'repair' lasts ... Not very long is my guess as it looks like some fella just threw a bucket of tarmac down and levelled it off with the sole of his boot ... 

[Biomech]

Can any councillor answer why Worcester council managed to fix 800 potholes in 2 weeks and only need to spend 0.7 million when major holes in Hereford remain unrepaired and we're having to spend 2.8 million?

[flamboyant]

No Biomech they can't but I'm 99% sure the answer lies in the Contract. 

[twowheelsgood]

Then the blame must rest 100% with Cllrs who signed the contract (headed up by Cllr Bramer I believe - Cabinet Member for Contracts and Assets).

[flamboyant]

Maybe we are missing something here ... is it possible the Councillors who come on this forum all fired up to answer our questions and then don't are prevented from doing so? 

[Chris Chappell]

Hi everyone,

 

It is difficult to compare Worcestersgire with Herefordshire. Herefordshire has twice the miles of roads to Worcestershire. But when it comes to road maintenance, it is even more difficult to compare.

 

Worcestershire has district councils who will look after the B & C roads in their area. The county council will be responsible only for their A roads and then only those not trunk roads. Highways Agency look after the rest.

It might be better to look at comparisons with Shropshire County Council.

 

Hope this helps.

[Biomech]

Herefordshire has twice the miles of roads to Worcestershire.

 

 

 

yeah, but if you don't include all of the 3rd lanes at roundabouts and extra lanes that cut THROUGH roundabouts...... :P

 

Temporary tarmac in holes also doesn't count :P

[megilleland]

From the Hereford Times - Your Say March 20th 2014: 

 

Bumpiest ride going

 

I HAVE lived in various towns and cities in England over the years and I have to say that Hereford must have the most potholes per square mile in the country.

 

It is about time something was done to fill them in.

 

Driving from one side of the city to the other is a nightmare. I have had damage to the suspension to my car as well as the tracking having to be adjusted.

 

Anyone suffering with back problems must find it very uncomfortable indeed.

 

Maybe the rise in council tax could fund this. Ha ha.

 

MR POWELL Bardolph Close, Hereford

 

Balfour Beatty have got the contract to repair the roads over the next 10 years. With the government awarding the council an additional £3.5M  to help with the road damage caused by the recent floods, plus £20M the council announced last month which will be used over the next two years to address underlying deterioration and prevent roads from deteriorating further in future years, are we going to see this money siphoned off or creatively accounted towards the Link Road. I hope not!

 

and

 

We’ve simply gone to pot

 

I REFER to recent correspondence and articles about potholes and litter.

 

Suing the Council in the local county court for pothole damage is difficult, but it can be done. I recently sued Herefordshire Council and Amey Wye Valley, and although I lost against the council on a technicality, I did end up recovering my damages by a stroke of luck which is another story.

 

The key thing is to report potholes, because then if you do sue, the council will have to disclose reports it has received, and then one can tell under the guidance rules whether action has been taken to undertake the repair in due time following any report.

 

The problem of course is that repairs are done so inadequately.

 

The area of potholes that caused the damage to my car has been repaired probably six times in the past year and have opened up yet again, so I called in personally at Balfour Beatty today to report them.

 

To talk of excuses such as weather is ridiculous... I spend a lot of time in Normandy and also Switzerland, where the weather is as severe or worse, and not a pothole in sight.

 

On the litter front, I invite anyone who wants to see an improvement to contact me on kipcarwaistell@ hotmail.com and I will talk them through serving notices under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which I did in 2009, after which I successfully prosecuted the council in Hereford Magistrates’ Court.

 

The council has an absolute duty to keep litter cleared, and it is almost impossible for the council to defend successfully any proceedings brought under the 1990 Act.

 

I also refer everyone to the website www.cleanhighways.co.uk which is a national campaign to clean up our motorways using the same 1990 Act.

 

KIP WAISTELL Vowchurch

 

I wonder where he called to see Balfou Beatty - I'll contact him. Great tips on how get the rubbish removed as a last resort.

 

and

 

Danger road needs action

 

CHAVE Court Close is an unadopted road, even though Herefordshire Council inherited the road at the time of the change in unitary authority in 1998.

 

HCC is therefore the owner of said road.

 

There is a public right of way under section 31 of the Highways Act 1980 which gives it highway status, the road is maintainable at the expense of the owners – Herefordshire Council – which incidentally already maintains the street lighting.

 

The condition of this road is a disgrace. Users often have to zig-zag to avoid the many ruts and potholes.

 

Given that a large number of mums and children use the road daily when visiting the Family Centre at the end of Chave Court Close, which I believe is run by HC, and at weekends as many as 40 cars can be parked in the close while, quite rightly, parents are supporting their children playing sport on Widemarsh Common.

 

This road is dangerous.

 

Heaven forbid that a child would be injured because HC might not accept its responsibilities.

 

Does Herefordshire have the worst roads in the country?

 

DAVID O’DOWD Chave Court Close, Hereford

 

I think so.

 

[Biomech]

That Kip is spot on, I spent some time in Iceland and their roads were immaculate, here:
http://goo.gl/EgKfmY

Now zoom out in map mode and see how remote that road is.

I saw ONE pothole. Which, in their defence was on a track road in the canyon of two intercontinental shifting tectonic plates. It was reported and the road immediately closed for assessment and repair.

 

Some great comments by Kip on suing the council for litter as well. Fantastic, I hope to see a lot more of that going on.