Link https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/127577 to sign a petition against using gravel to re-surface roads.
As much as it would be great for councils to stop using chippings to surface roads, it is essential for this work to be done.This is due to the cost of Macadam. If they stopped road dressing it would mean less roads would be maintained and country roads would never be done. Its all comes down to budgets at the end of the day.Roads that are being surfaced dressed should be well signed and as a rule be swept after two or three days. I work in this area and set up Traffic Management for this work. Signage to warn road users of the risk of loose chippings during and on after care of a road being maintained is essential. The chipping are rolled into the bitumen emulsion and traffic allowed on the surface at low speed to help embed the chips. the biggest problem is speed, as the this pulls the chips from the Tar and causes all the loose chips that give us bikers and car windscreens the trouble. I have been unfortunate and come off on a dressed road when I was younger. and that was due to the road not being signed. I used the same road that morning but they had dressed it during the day. That has stuck with me as did the scars. I always over do signage to ensure the public are aware of the danger ahead.
Spending the money and re-surfacing the roads like they used to. They are only penny pinching at the moment. The maintenance of roads in general is abysmal but if you have ever ridden on a freshly gritted road you will know just how dangerous it is for bikes. I would prefer it if they just left the road alone. I don't believe all the Tory crap about having to save money either. It's like the NHS, there's plenty of money in there it's just squandered. This is leading to a political rant so I'll go and get my tea ready. It's pulled beef brisket that's been in the oven since 8:00am in herbs and spices and BBQ sauce on flatbreads with salad and crispy potatoes.
I agree to some extent. Surface dressing is a danger when it's first put down,but after a week or so it's fine. I'd rather put up with it for a short time and be left with a grippy surface then just let it deteriorate into a shiny lethal surface.
Andy, Believe me, I have worked on roads for the last 35 years, They don't just pick a road at random, Roads are picked because they are worn out. They are dressed because the road deteriorates has the surface stone polishes through wear causing a slippery surface and making breaking distances longer. It also becomes porous allowing water to get under the macadam and this is what causes pot holes. What the chippings (Grit) does is give better grip in all weathers and the tar not only holds the chip but stops water from penetrating the road thus reducing the risk of pot holes . Its more complex than that, but that's the simple guild to why its done. For the sake of a few days with loose chippings compared to a year on a slippery potholed road.......I know what I would prefer. Lunch sounds nice
I do believe you Wayne. But there's no substitute for a proper road surface. You say it needs a few days of cars going over it to bed the chippings in ? Can't it be rolled then swept (there must be some way) ?
I see both views but does signage saying we've just made this road dangerous make everything OK? I don't agree with a lot of the h&s stuff but when I'm several miles down a road that turns to gravel with a white van man still wanting to do 60mph it really does worry me. Andy
theirs a few roads up my way that they seem to use gravel on every year, and they never sweep up the excess ,so you have to avoid them for several weeks, even after that you have to be careful as the gravel seems to make there way to corners i hate that kind of road surface as it's very difficult to spot the excess gravel
Sounds just like our county and local council, chuck loads of gravel about whenever they fix a pot hole. It has always scared the crepe out of me and always leaves me going through the "blue, black, blue, black, OUCH!" routine.
What really gets me, in our local nearest town, they have gone to great ... Great expense to actually resurface some of the worst bits of road in the town. One particular road just over a mile in length was actually totally resurfaced. Bugger me no more than a week after it was reopened to traffic the water board moved in and dug a bloody big hole for whatever reason and then finally filling it in and making good the surface .. What a cock up
Unfortunately no. The sweeper will lift the chips from the tar with the brushes, we do just suck them up but as i said earlier Andy, speed will lift chips until they are fully embeded so your always going to get loose chips for several days after the dressing because of drivers speeding on the new surface. Your right, there is no substitute for macadam or asphalt. But cost is the issue . All that local Authorities / Highway agences can do is extend the life of worn out B roads and spend a higher portion of there budget on macadaming Busier A roads.
