Taking Action on the Potholes of Bramley, Hants

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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