Surrey potholes

ricky_h-2

By way of background I have been riding around (what passes for) hills in Surrey for several years and after my usual winter off roading, decided to head out on my road bike for a longer ride this weekend. It really felt like the roads were in a worse state than I can ever remember with potholes being a constant sight throughout a three hour ride. I can't help but feel as the roads get busier they post a serious threat to life and limb due to their size and frequency and the neglect feels worse than ever. I know we have just had a period of freezing weather which makes it worse and I know people have died as a result of pothole induced crashes. Is it just me that thinks it is worse than ever or has a period of off roading made me forget how bad it was ?
Anyway, take care out there and remember to point out hazards as much as you can.
PS I do use fillthathole but there were way too many to log

alex222

You are right, Surrey roads are currently in a shocking state.
Seems to be worse than I can remember.

StillGoing

It isn't just Surry, it is everywhere around the UK. The frost damage has been particularly harsh this winter (and early spring) due to a lot of rain fall followed by freezing conditions. Its a nightmare venturing just about anywhere on a road bike at the moment.

cougie

I think this is one reason why we are going fur wider tyres.

ricky_h-2

I agree on wider tyres (I ride 28mm as standard as it makes poor surfaces bearable) and was still having to bunny hop holes.
I see elsewhere that Grayling is promising more funds to address the issue but with the amount if holes out there, I doubt we will notice much improvement

alex222

Ricky h wrote:

I agree on wider tyres (I ride 28mm as standard as it makes poor surfaces bearable) and was still having to bunny hop holes.
I see elsewhere that Grayling is promising more funds to address the issue but with the amount if holes out there, I doubt we will notice much improvement

I wouldn't trust Grayling with anything. Well known as one of the least intelligent men in politics.

step83

Its pretty much everywhere the pothole issue. its worth checking what your council also class as a pothole, for example my local council wont take action of a "pothole" unless it exceeds 50mm of depth

https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/highwa ... t-potholes

An additional £100m has been allocated to help pothole repairs this is on top of the current £6bn currently giving annually in funding.

sloppyschleckonds

You've probably just forgotten how bad they were

weezyswiss

Step83 wrote:

Its pretty much everywhere the pothole issue. its worth checking what your council also class as a pothole, for example my local council wont take action of a "pothole" unless it exceeds 50mm of depth

https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/highwa ... t-potholes

An additional £100m has been allocated to help pothole repairs this is on top of the current £6bn currently giving annually in funding.

https://www.indy100.com/article/cheshir ... en-8250396

step83

WeezySwiss wrote:

https://www.indy100.com/article/cheshire-west-chester-council-pothole-tweet-viral-disaster-meme-joke-funny-inspector-darren-8250396

Suddenly makes sense why none are being looked at.

dabber

Patching potholes is no solution. The patches just break up quickly and we end up with the holes again. Resurfacing is required. There seems to be no strategy to do this and the whole surface of so many roads are just disintegrating.

cgfw201

I remember my first spring ride of the year in Surrey 2 years ago being a real eye opener, felt like riding on the surface of the moon.

Was out there on Sunday, did Staple Lane and some lanes on the northern side, didn't find it too bad but know it will be almost unrideable in places. The area round Leith Hill was awful last year.

fenix

cgfw201 wrote:

The area round Leith Hill was awful last year.

That's weird - it's fine on Zwift....

Bumo_b

Did the Wiggle Sportive with my son which crosses Suffolk, Cambs and Essex and have to say there were some horrendous potholes in all three counties. Organisers did their best to signpost particularly bad roads but you still hit a few. My son hit one full on that was at least 60mm deep and was amazed he didnt come off. Thought the wheel would of been a write off as well, but the Askiums he was using were as true as ever on inspection. He was shaken but had manage to go down the hole and hit the other side straight on, so didn't get thrown to the side, but any deeper and he would of gone straight over! it is bad everywhere

dizzydane

Roads are terrible everywhere. Cycled to Brighton and back 2 weekends ago and lost one rider to a bad strip of road. Luckily it wasn't on a decent, but his rear derailleur was snapped clean off.

Pothole Slalom sportives next year?

I shouldn't laugh... My poor bikes have taken a bashing this winter and I find myself truing wheels monthly.

Sutton_Rider

The problem is councils now bodge pothole in an false attempt at saving money. In a lot of cases the contractors don't even dig out the loose stones at the bottom of the hole before filling it with tarmac and wacking it down. Then water gets in and the first time it freezes it pushes the tarmac out, you're back to a pothole again. If the pothole was sawn and joints sealed it could last 10 to 15 years, but it takes longer and costs more. - I used to teach the councils highway inspectors and audit their maintenance contractors in the south a few years back.

bristolpete

South Devon just as bad.

Effectively Green laning on push bikes, but roads shod with pot holes as big your aunties fanny. Or as big as Aunt Fanny, which ever you prefer.

cooldad

I live in the Surrey Hills and it's even a bit of a nightmare in one of my cars. My Subaru copes ok, (I just pretend I'm a rally driver) but little MGF feels every bump and crunch. I try and drive round most of them. which is not always easy on the singletrack lanes.

Doesn't help that the hydrolastic suspension is running really low, which should be sorted next week. But that won't fix the bastard potholes.

Tinfoil hat time - Maybe politicians everywhere have shares in wheel and tyre companies.

paul_onabike

I live in Derby and the roads are not being maintained properly here. The council just chuck some tarmac in the larger holes and just leave the smaller ones, even though they are sometimes only a few feet away from the hole they have just filled.
The road maintenance standards are no longer fit for purpose, and it is cyclists that are suffering the most as we often suffer personal injuries whereas it is very rare a motorist does.
Many claims are rejected by the council as you have to prove they know about the hole, and it meets their criteria for repair - and have not fixed it within a reasonable time.
Councils are no longer recording minor defects on their inspections, only ones that are actionable. Even when you tell them it is dangerous for motorcycles and cyclists they do nothing. The thing is - If they don't record them, someone has to have reported the defect previously for a claim to be made.
Many of the substandard repairs that have been done over the last few years have failed again this winter, along with many new holes, leaving the roads unsafe.

Its nothing short of a scam to avoid their responsibilities, with cyclists being the worst affected.

It's in our own interests to report every hole we see. Many councils have way of reporting defects online, and what I have done is bookmarked the page so I can report the holes in a couple of minutes. If you dont report holes you are letting the councils off the hook, and allowing them to leave roads unrepaired.

Here is a ctc article published yesterday

https://www.cyclinguk.org/press-release/156-local-authorities-spend-total-ps433-million-pothole-claims

cooldad

From that site, Surrey is down near the bottom of the fixing potholes list. At 14%.

https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/league-table

bungle73

Alex222 wrote:

Ricky h wrote:

I agree on wider tyres (I ride 28mm as standard as it makes poor surfaces bearable) and was still having to bunny hop holes.
I see elsewhere that Grayling is promising more funds to address the issue but with the amount if holes out there, I doubt we will notice much improvement

I wouldn't trust Grayling with anything. Well known as one of the least intelligent men in politics.

The guy has been happy to the let the Southern debacle drag on for years.

cooldad

Bungle73 wrote:

Alex222 wrote:

Ricky h wrote:

I agree on wider tyres (I ride 28mm as standard as it makes poor surfaces bearable) and was still having to bunny hop holes.
I see elsewhere that Grayling is promising more funds to address the issue but with the amount if holes out there, I doubt we will notice much improvement

I wouldn't trust Grayling with anything. Well known as one of the least intelligent men in politics.

The guy has been happy to the let the Southern debacle drag on for years.

While on the subject of debacles, any response to this?

viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=13089571&start=160

ricky_h-2

That fill that hole league table is telling, on a cursory glance, Surrey has the most reported holes (over 8000) and unfilled so it would suggest my intuition about the problem getting worse is correct

dstev55

Do you not think it's about time something different was done to help overcome the pothole problem and general poor quality of our roads?

What I mean is that in the last 20-30 years, what has actually changed in the way that road repairs are carried out? I'm no expert but not a lot I wouldn't have thought.

So many things around us have advanced technologically yet road repairs are still dealt with in the same, largely unsuccessful way, despite significant increases in road traffic.

davebradswmb

I don't think that the pothole situation in South Staffs is any better than anywhere else, but I seem to be seeing a few more (and better quality) repairs being carried out recently, I wonder if the recent bad publicity about potholes has resulted in a bit of arse kicking in the highways departments?

step83

Ill try an get a photo when im out next but theres a comedy one near me, the original hole was patched then the tarmac around the patch broke away creating a small square island complete with moat when it rains.

Dorset_Boy

dstev55 wrote:

Do you not think it's about time something different was done to help overcome the pothole problem and general poor quality of our roads?

What I mean is that in the last 20-30 years, what has actually changed in the way that road repairs are carried out? I'm no expert but not a lot I wouldn't have thought.

So many things around us have advanced technologically yet road repairs are still dealt with in the same, largely unsuccessful way, despite significant increases in road traffic.

They used to repair holes properly - cut out around the hole, properly fill it and SEAL the edges to stop the water getting back in and freeze / thaw lifting the filling out.
No road repairs, be they pot holes or utility companies work are sealed any more in England and this is making the problem far far worse than it need be.

Go up an alpine road and you will see they seal everything and their roads face more extreme conditions, but don't deteriorate any where near as fast.

philbar72

The Surrey roads have always been pretty average, but recently I’ve noticed much more devastation. The area near Chilworth and Albury is fun, Leith is literally falling apart, and some parts of Hungry hill are still like the moon. Juniper is getting worse and the resurfacing they did on critten lane was then undone when another water/gas/electricity pipe was shoved in and they carved the road up for that.

It should be said that there are some lovely roads on the sussex borders, and surrounding areas, but realistically, the council need to do something about it. of course they will carry on with chip and seal and random hole filling…

And yes I’ve seen a few random holes with their own mini ponds etc… its all a bit sad.

-Dash

philbar72 wrote:

and some parts of Hungry hill are still like the moon.

What's the deal with Hungry Hill anyway? Smoooth lovely tarmac, broken up teeth shattering stuff, smooth tarmac, repeat.

KnightOfTheLongTights

It's right into south-west London too - have noted a marked deterioration in Twickenham, Richmond, Sheen, Barnes etc.
The cold snap probably didn't help but a bloke in the pub did once tell me that there are basically two ways to repair potholes: a cheap and quick way that will break up quite quickly and a less cheap, less quick way that lasts a lot longer.
No prizes for guessing which utility companies etc use.
But also council budgets have been drastically squeezed over the last two decades so it wouldn't surprise me if they have started using the former rather than the latter.
Also more commercial traffic on the roads, heavier vehicles, 4x4s etc etc

shirley_basso

The holes on the entrance to Blackfriars (westbound) now filled, but the holes within the tunnel still present.

Big holes along the embankment adjacent to the roadworks where there's only one lane, but I guess they can't really repair it as it would mean closing the road entirely.