Taking Action on the Potholes of Bramley, Hants

Report #2

Reported by: TG Date Reported to Site: 21st March 2009

Locations and Descriptions of Potholes

Report ID:1742646

Turn left out of Campbell Road and proceed 50 yards.This is the worse one as the drain has sunk by some 3-4 inches

Report ID:1742647

Campbell Road: This is about 2 inches deep and is getting worse as the lorries wear away at the edges.

Report ID:1742647

This is the trench that was dug for the gas pipe for the German Road Estate.

Report ID:1742648

End of Campbell Road: This is worse than it looks as a large area of road is sinking. Brake on this is the dry or wet and EBS kicks in or you skid as one or two wheel lose traction.

Latest Highways Status Reports

Report ID: 1742646 (A)

Report ID: 1742647 (B)

Report ID: 1742648 (C)

[geotagger map_name="Report#2"]

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What is a pothole?

After posting in our Google Group the other day, one of the other members (LB)
pointed out we should remember exactly what a pothole is. Obviously, we cannot
be reporting every little blemish on our roads in and around Bramley, since that
won’t win us any friends at the Highways Agency. They are very good at sending
engineers out to assess each and every report, so rather than waste their time,
we should perhaps sort of defects that we should be reporting.

Definition of a Pothole.

Believe it or not, but even after an extensive search, I can’t find an exact
definition of what constitutes a pothole. The following is based upon the points
given to me in the original email from LB.

• Pot Hole – Minimum Diameter & Minimum Depth
• Sunken Manhole covers
• Sunken or raised valve covers
• Inadequate road repairs
• Tarmac edge erosion
• Frost damage

Pothole

Consider the depth and diameter of the pothole. If the pothole is not deep enough
to break your ankle, or lose a wheel, then it probably isn’t worth repairing.
It might be worth reporting to the Highways agency if only to inform them especially
around cold snaps where the “freeze/thaw” effect could worsen the damage. But
in your report make sure to stress that it isn’t a problem now, but could be
in the future. Also consider the cyclist and position of the pothole. If it is
a position likely to cause a cyclist to swerve, this could be considered dangerous
enough to warrant repair even if it is not deep enough to be a problem.

Sunken Manhole Covers and Raised Valve Covers

Sunken manhole covers represent the same dangers to pedestrians, motorists and
cyclists. Again, if it hasn’t sunken enough to cause damage or injury, it isn’t
worth reporting to have it repaired. It still might be worth reporting to the
Highways agency so that they can contact the facility company responsible for
the access point. It might for example be an indication of a leaking water pipe.
More often or not, it is usually down to a bad repair whereby the ‘filler’ material
was not packed correctly during a repair which subsequently causes the ground
to expand or more often or not, sink.

Tarmac Edge Erosion

Many of the lanes around our village of Bramley don’t have paths and as such,
the edges just join the earth at the side of the road. With the floods of last
year and the more recent cold weather, the soil erodes away leaving the edge
of the road exposed. (I should also mention that lorries and construction traffic
that has a habit of driving half on/half off the road doesn’t help matters either!).
Some of these holes can be quite large. ( My father was unlucky enough to be
forced into one such hole on Cufaude Lane by an oncoming car. It was that deep,
the car grounded out).

Frost Damage

Frost damage deserves a mention of its own since in reality it causes some of
the damage already mentioned above. All roads have tiny cracks in them, and when
the water seeps into these cracks and freezes, the expanding ice widens the cracks,
so when the ice thaws, it leaves a bigger crack. This is known as the “freeze/thaw” effect.
If a crack expands to a level whereby it causes something called the “tram effect” and
can be a danger to cyclists (pedal and motor). Before reporting frost damage,
consider whether it is a danger to road users and not just a ‘crack in the road’

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Report #1

Reported by: PC
Date Reported to Site: 13th March 2009

Location and Description of Pothole

2 roadside drains between the Smithy and Farriers Close are full to the brim with mud so do not allow for rain water on the road to clear. One of these drains (gully pot) is between the traffic Island and is sinking, you can see this very clearly as the kirbs have sunk about 5 inches causing a pothole. Buses and lorries can not avoid the pothole due to the traffic island. The drains are located on the side of the road as if you are driving from Bramley to Sherfield on Loddon.

Reported to Council: Yes
Report ID: 1736702

Last Highways Status

[geotagger map_name="Report#1"]

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How to Report a Pothole to Hampshire Highways

Last year during 2008, Hampshire Council were responsible for repairing some
30,000 potholes during a “Pot Hole Busters” campaign.

Hopefully with the increase in the budget allocated to the Highways repair
team, Bramley and the surrounding areas will see similar action in 2009, (not
that there is anywhere near 30,000 potholes in Bramley, it just feels like
it sometimes).

2008 Pothole Busters Logo

By far the best course of action on finding a pothole is to report the matter
directly to the roads
and transport team at Hampshire Council.

You can do this by going directly to their page for reporting
potholes.

All I ask is that if you have the time and if you don’t mind, could you send
me the details so I can track the progress of the work via this site.

Information required to report a pothole

Before you report the form, make sure you have the following information available.

• A brief description of the defect (i.e Pothole approx 24″ long, 3″ deep
  at edge of road)
• Note the nearest town/village/parish (i.e. is it closer to Bramley, Sherfield,
  Sherbourne St John)
• The road name, road number (i.e A347 or “The Street”)
• The name or number of nearby houses/property, or any other information
  to provide detail about the location.

You will be asked to provide your own contact information incase the council
need to contact you about any further information that they might require.

Following up a report of a pothole

Once you have submitted the form, you will be supplied with a reference number.

You can check on the progress of your report using the highways
enquiry form.

What to do if you don’t want to report it yourself!

As I have previously said, it is best that you report the pothole direct to
the Highways Agency. If you do, I would ask that you forward the details of
the report to me .

But if for some reason you don’t want to go via the council, then please send
me the details and I will try to find the pothole, record any information and
report it for you.

You do it anonymously, but I will need as much information as possible. Hopefully
I won’t get sent on ‘too many’ wild goose chases, but at least the dogs will
get fitter.

You can use the contact or report forms
on the tabs at the top of this page.

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This way, you won’t miss out on any of the news.

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Over the next few days, I’ll be putting the finishing touches to this site
which will be dedicated to having the potholes of Bramley, Hants fixed once
and for all.

These are not just down to the recent weather, but have been an on-going situation
on the various roads in and around the village of Bramley.

Apparently, extra funding has been allocated by Hampshire County Council
for them to start fixing the roads, and this site will provide a method for
the villagers of Bramley to report and track the councils response to our
requests.

Check back over the next few days as I add more content and will begin to add the “pot hole reports”.

In the meantime, if you have any photographs of potholes you have ‘run into’,
send them to Report a pothole

You can also send me a message by using the contact form.

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