A new way of managing all works on the county’s roads should help keep traffic flowing more smoothly.
Under the proposed new rules, nearly everyone wanting to carry out works on the highways, including utility companies and the council’s own contractors, will need to apply for a permit to do so.
This permit scheme will allow the authority to impose conditions around the types of traffic management systems used and the timing and duration of the works.
Companies will also need to provide clearer and more detailed roadside signage, giving people more information about what’s happening.
The council has been trialling the scheme since March with some of its own works, as well as consulting local companies, neighbouring local authorities, District and Parish Councils and national businesses affected by utilities works. Special interest groups were also consulted.
Cllr Richard Davies, Executive Member for Highways, said: “The vast majority of the works carried out on our roads are by utility companies – last year it was around 80 percent.
“This new approach will give us more control over the timing and duration of all works, helping us minimise any disruption. We could even penalise them for any unnecessary inconvenience they might cause.
“That should mean better co-ordination and that things are completed on time and to a good standard, keeping the roads open and the traffic flowing as much as possible.”
The proposals are due to be discussed by the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee on Monday 11 July, with a final decision taken by the authority’s Executivein September 2016. If approved, the scheme is due to start in early October.
Good morning Mr Davies,
Could I suggest that a way to alleviate the problem of potholes reappearing in the roads in and around Grantham would be to simply run a layer of hot tar and then cover with grit. This would cost something on the region of say £30k for a vehicle to carry out the work, £40k for two employees (£20k per annum) and £20k for the materials. This would be good for up to 5 years so could be done on a rotational basis. The current method of raising the asphalt and then raising the manhole covers results in the manhole covers sinking and causing more potholes and surface damage hence leading to ruther expense.
Hi Nigel,
The short answer is we already do that across the county. However the costs are significantly more than you’ve envisaged. We do several hundred miles of surface dressing every year and the average costs out at £17,580.28 per mile (at 6m width).
There’s a lot more information here: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/road-management-and-maintenance/works-programmes/surface-treatments/
Now we have left the EU is it possible to reduce the weight transported in lorries? According to my sister, who is very interested in this subject, there was an EU ruling to increase the weight in lorries by 5 tonnes. We (as in the UK) followed this ruling, whereas Germany did not. However, since the increased weight transported, the UK has developed a severe pot hole problem. Is it possible to check this out and find out if this is indeed the root cause of this awful, and expensive problem? She says they do not have the same problem in Germany, because they decided not to increase the weight transported by lorries after due consideration.