The surface condition of some of our roads is deplorable, and most are poor. I have a close friend who works for a county council roads department , and he tells me they council had a budget of £5M for repairs exluding scheduled refurbishment schemems, but to date they had £20M pounds worth of repairs notified on their books, and the gap is widening.
It always amazes me ho long it takes resurface a road especially having witnessed a scheme in BC Canada just outside Chetwynde. One morning at about 11 am we were travelling SouthWest with some Canadian relatives towards the town on a single carriage way road, when we came upon some stopped cars just by a road works stop sign. This was some 100 metres before the first evidence of road works equipment, but not a workman in sight. The drivers in front had got out of their cars and were talking to each other, as we pulled up a couple of cars behind us also stopped and their drivers got out, It was almost becoming a bit of party.
I asked what going on, and my sister in law said the road s being resurfaced. We waited about another 10 mins, and pick up truck with amber lights cold just be seen coming to wards us through the road works. As it approached all the drivers got back into their cars. The truck pulled into a clearing just ahead of our queue, and as it did so a column of perhaps 40 vehicles followed it through and went on their way past us.
Meanwhile the truck turned round waited for the opposing vehicles to clear the section and set off back into the road works and our column followed. We were doing about 60Kph in convoy.
We followed the truck for about 9km, and near the end of the restricted section we came across the repair team who were working on the other side of the road and moving towards us at clearly quite a pace. In a matter of 100 meters they were lifting at least 100mm depth of old surface, breaking it up adding new bitumen and some aggregate relaying, rolling it, sealing the seams and painting the white lines in one continuous process along one half of the carriage way.
When we returned from Chetwynde some 14 hours later the road was clear, no equipment left on the road it was parked up in the lay by where we have been stopped on our journey in. The half carriage way had been fully completed within the day, and my Sil told me they'd probably do the other half tomorrow.
No fuss, they just got on with it, Only portable stop and go signs, no forests of cones ( just a few around the stopping points. Because the traffic was controlled by a convoy truck there was no silly driving and it it all seemed to work impressively well.
I know its not a fair comparison because the road did not have many drains or other iron works to be reset, but its clear indication of what can be done if the circumstances will allow it. It would be potential solution for some of our major roads and motorways.
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