Tuesday 11 March 2014

March update

When I put together last month’s piece, the main theme was roadworks.

The drainage works at Brookfield have now been completed and a new 30MPH limit exists from the road end at Brookfield Cemetery all the way through to the junction at Gowanlea Nursery, which some drivers still seem to be unaware of. 

I was hopeful that the impending closure of the A761 for a week would result in a much improved road surface between Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir. Sadly, the new surface, a heavenly driving experience though it is, only stretches for a few hundred metres out of Bridge of Weir; thereafter it’s back onto the rumble strip. The improved section has to be commended, but it was clear from Social Media just how frustrated drivers have become, with various comments: “to be closed for that length of time to do what they did! Now the back road is horrific with potholes!” and “shocking that the road was closed for so long and how little has been fixed grrrr”.

I’m sure I can recall a time when the local council had a team of workmen who were on-call to fix the roads, clear the drains, cut the hedgerows, etc… Nowadays though, I guess possibly for cost saving reasons, all these maintenance jobs seem to be outsourced and subject to a tendering process. With potholes, we have someone quantify the job and highlight the proposed repair areas with coloured paint. Then nothing appears to happen for months, other than nature doing its utmost. Invariably by the time the work commences the job has grown in magnitude, but the contractor is only able to deal with their specific remit and the beautifully repaired pothole now has several unrepaired neighbours. And so it goes on, and on, and on; or am I just being cynical. But why are the roads falling apart? There must be a logical reason. Is it simply that the gulleys and roadside drains are blocked and the water now trapped under the road undermines the subsurface? If so, here’s an idea; maybe we should have a team of guys dealing with regular maintenance to keep the ditches clear!!!

Remember the clocks go forward one hour on Sunday 30th March!

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Next deadline Friday 14th March!

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