Road maintenance in Hertfordshire

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So many people seem to be complaining about the roads these days – not just us poor cyclists but car drivers as well.  Hertfordshire is one of the “home counties” as it borders onto Greater London.  It is a prosperous county with around 1 million in population, well governed and is well served by a number of important roads passing through.  Amongst these are the M1, M25, A1M and a range of important A roads.

In spite of the prosperity I am disappointed about the apparent poor levels in road maintenance.  This has contributed to a recent accident / mishap which I recently blogged about.

And then you can argue that it is unsurprising that roads deteriorate quickly when even the most basic maintenance seems to be done on the cheap.  Firstly the amount of weeds growing at the sides of roads has become much worse over the last few years.  These weeds contribute to the edges breaking up – they are an easy route for rain water to soak in and the freeze in the winter months which naturally leads to the road surface breaking up.

In the photos you can see plenty of growing weeds and the strange presence of newly laid tarmac which doesn’t cover the whole width of the road.  Such a strange thing, but then it might not matter to the Council as it effects mostly cyclists, who are fewer in number compared to cars, vans and lorries.

Am I missing something, or is this shoddy work?  Perhaps the contractors are only doing what they are asked to do?  As ever, any comments welcome.

Incomplete resurfacing - poor purchasing or shoddy work?

Incomplete resurfacing – poor purchasing or shoddy work?

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