Pothole Parade

[Stanley]

One patch done in Butts opposite B&D. Plenty of cones laid about!

[Stanley]

Patching completed in Butts. Tidy Job!

[David Whipp]

There's a larger area to be planed out in front of Taylor Street - I'm assuming that this is to be done by a larger planing machine.

Waiting to hear when the same work will be carried out on Skipton Road.

[David Whipp]

Still don't know when the large area of patching on Butts, which is to be machine laid is to be done; the county don't know...

LCC are now telling me that the extensive structural patching on Skipton Road and Bleara Road will be done in January (they told me August in June...). Apparently, the programme for such work in Pendle is the middle of winter...

Now, I'm all in favour of a lovely mild winter, not one of those nasty cold jobbies that we often get in the Pennines with snow and ice... but I don't think LCC should be planning to do extensive work on Bleara Road (or Skipton Road for that matter) in the bleak midwinter.

I've asked if they can swap the timing of the work in Pendle with one of the districts west of the M6 - low lying and close to the moderating sea...

Meanwhile, choked gulleys need attention in West Craven. Please post if you know of any needing attention. Thanks.

This is one of three on Rainhall Road - above the property flooded in August...

[Stanley]

I thought Butts had been done? Is the work only a preliminary to a full resurface?
You're right about gulley grates and the time to identify them is when it is raining heavily, many look clear but can't take a bigger than normal flow and of course that's when the danger is.

[David Whipp]

This is the section of Butts still to be planed out and resurfaced. You may be able to make out the white lining at the edge of the crazed section of bitmac to the left of the photo.

The road is marked out for the full width until you approach the junction of Taylor Street. This is the area that's progressively breaking down each winter and causing potholes. (The progress of patching is evident in the foreground of the picture.)

As this is a big area, the bitmac will be laid with a machine rather than hand laid as with the smaller patches on the road. It's this machine laying (and prior planing out) that we're waiting for.

Apart from a holding reply, haven't had anything back about the nonsense of major roadworks in January...

[David Whipp]

Good news for the Monkroyd area...

After much chunnering from me, LCC is due to begin work next week on structural patching on all the roads from the junction of Callfhall Road with Walmsgate to Pennine Way (and the final section of Butts is due to be done in December). This is in advance of surface dressing the roads next year to seal them and, hopefully, keep them in decent nick for a while.

Picture shows the section at the Calfhall Road junction.

[Stanley]

Nice to see you pursuing this initiative again David. Watch out for lurking Tories with cameras, they'll be claiming credit for it!
That loose manhole opposite Sainty's old shop is getting worse.....

[David Whipp]

It's the time of year for potholes to start popping up...

'Sainty's old shop'; where are we talking Stanley? You mentioned one on Gisburn Road, but this was down towards Gisburn Street? I've noticed one opposite Gotts Garage?

Positive progress yesterday with the side street next to the post office being planed out.

[Stanley]

It's the one outside Gott's garage at the bottom of Damhead Road. I'm surprised you have forgotten Sainty's, the biggest bakery and confectioners in the town.

[David Whipp]

Do you mean Hackings, Stanley? Sainty's is round the corner?

[Thomo]

The one at the end of the block on the dam head side of Gotts was Hackings when Mr Sainty was still at school, Sainty's started across from what was Watsons Garage, and is still there today. A certain local Councillor who was related to the Hackings earned his nickname "teacake" when as a boy at Gisburn Rd. School, and at morning playtime, he would stand on the steps and shout "teacake" at the shop across, this would usually bring forth a sandwich, envied by all!

[Stanley]

Senior moment! You are both right, it was Hackings.....

[David Whipp]

Now we've sorted the bakehouses out, back to the side of the post office, where there's a comedy of errors...

As reported, the side street was planed off on Friday, with completion of resurfacing due today (Monday).

Over the weekend, contractors for the water company have dug a hole for a new connection right in the middle of where resurfacing is taking place...



The surfacing gang say they'll leave the affected area until the water workers backfill their hole.

An additional beggeration is that they'd organised themselves to work off Ellis Street rather than block Frank Street, which may now be necessary...

[David Whipp]

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Barlick, work has begun on structural repair work in the Monkroyd area.



A plaining machine is cutting out the smaller areas being repaired this morning.

[David Whipp]

And... though not quite a pothole story... here's work getting underway replacing slippery safety surface tiles with 'wet pour' safety surfacing at the Valley Gardens play area.

[Stanley]

David, those polished flags outside the toilets are lethal at the moment. I slipped on them yesterday, seems to be just algae and moisture....

[David Whipp]

Flag problem reported Stanley. (Was thinking of flags sending people flying...)

And thinking of slipperiness, got an email from LCC today saying after repeated requests from a nearby resident for this grit bin on Esp Lane to be removed, they are due to remove it... Any views?

[Stanley]

There aren't enough grit bins when you need them. This might be a mistake!

[PanBiker]

And it has to be said that not many of them have a lot of rock salt in either.

[David Whipp]

The way grit bins are looked after (not) is disgraceful...

A regular niggle for me is this ponding section of pavement on Kelbrook Road, which I've been nattering about for a couple of years at least. Particularly annoying as a new stretch of bitmac has been put in recently across the verge at this point.

[PanBiker]

My "worst bit of road" mentioned on here before is the junction of Skipton Road with Fernlea, must be the most uneven surface in the district.

[David Whipp]

Ian, reported repeatedly - and included in the tour I took senior highway managers on earlier this year. It appears that 'deformed carriageway' isn't in their list of defects...

Meanwhile, had the following back about the ponding on Kelbrook Road pavement: "According to our records your latest request was forwarded to the highways team for attention on 20th October 2014. Our latest information is the area has been inspected and an instruction will be raised for footway and carriageway works to be carried out to alleviate the problem."

[PanBiker]

Ian, reported repeatedly - and included in the tour I took senior highway managers on earlier this year. It appears that 'deformed carriageway' isn't in their list of defects...

Can't see why not it's a defective surface and just as much a hazard as a hole in the road, especially to two wheeled users. The surface is cracking on the ridges of the multiple undulations so I suppose it's only a matter of time before the surface breaks up. Whether or not they would address the underlying cause of the undulations is another matter though, seems like bad policy to me. Bottoming a job is always better than painting over the cracks which I know you are aware of.

[David Whipp]

As it happens... I raised the issue of the Skipton Road/Fernlea Ave junction at a meeting with highway managers this afternoon; they listened, but whether they'll act, who knows?