I had a message from a friend this morning saying that he had read in our online newspaper that there was depression in my street and he wondered if I was suffering from it.
They have indeed cordoned-off half of the road as they wonder what to do about the series of pits that have been pummelled into the road by larger and larger coaches, busses and lorries as they trundle past, shaking the foundations of our compact but adorable city apartment.
For the past few years - as the traffic has become heavier - they have simply cut out the bit of tarmac and filled it with new. It doesn't take a degree in engineering to work out that whatever material which has been pushed down into the road has got to go somewhere if it doesn't come back up again, and the holes have been filled so many times now that the material must have been compacted as far as it is possible to be.
There are stone arch cellars beneath the street and I wonder if the top stones have been displaced by the traffic. I expect that they will or have inspected the cellars by now, but it has been known for a section of road over a cellar to just turn into a 10 foot deep hole, so I hope they have. One of those could swallow a motorcycle.
There are numerous ordinary potholes all over the roads around Bath and beyond, and Britain's councils are struggling to find the money to fill them all. I know three people who have sued the council for damage to their vehicle from driving over potholes and when I drive these days, I have one eye on the road surface at all times, swerving from side to side to avoid the deep ones. Sometimes you cannot avoid them and I wince as I hear/feel my suspension bottoming out.
From being an issue which no councillor wanted to go anywhere near, pot holes are top of the road list of things to do. Bath has a Pot Hole Tsar.
If you plan on driving through the mountains of Crete this year, here is a very handy bit of advice:
A white-painted large rock in the middle of the road signifies that a stretch of road around the bend has collapsed down the hill. If you drive round the rock at night (as I did once) you suddenly find yourself on the brink of a 600 foot drop. I'll settle for potholes.
We often drive through the mountains of Crete and have learned to be ready for anything! The potholes are taking over UK - do hope that they don't turn into sinkholes.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't sinkhole territory. We have either clay or rock beneath us, not sand. Having said that, most of bath is on stilts made by the cellars!
DeleteThey are probably just preparing the road for your nice new shiney 'Congestion Charge' signs.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is enough room for them. Too many 'bus gate' signs and enforcement cameras.
DeletePotholes were the scourge of my trip to Texas. I use the Interstate highways through more than ten states. Potholes at 70 and 80 miles per hour could be lethal. My conclusion: our national highways are administered by a load of scalawags.
ReplyDeleteI think that everywhere is administered by a load of scallywags.
DeleteReading about Crete it sounds to me as though you are taking Bath's potholes completely in your stride so to speak!
ReplyDeleteI can but my car cannot.
DeleteI read that Bath is planning to be the first city outside London to have a congestion charge...... that might help a bit ! XXXX
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard about that - yet. One part of the council encourages more and more visitors for their money, and another tries to deter them because of the traffic.
DeleteBroken news: Prince Harry and his American fiancé sped past the plastic barriers THE WRONG WAY in a motorcade today. I was in but I missed it.
ReplyDeletePot holes by Royal appointment has a certainly ring to it...
ReplyDeleteHarry will be sorry to have missed you Tom.
LX
They probably filled all the holes on his route.
DeleteThank you for the advice...love your work x
ReplyDeleteThat advice could actually save lives. Because I never show photos of my work, I think most people think I am making it all up.
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