arup’s blog

I wish to register a complaint. After traffic congestion in London it’s the state of the roads that needs to be addressed. Firstly the cracks and potholes hardly ever get repaired and when they do get repaired they do a terrible job so have to do it all over again.

The Pothole Hotline

When I first moved into my part of the huge sprawl that is Greater London, there were potholes everywhere. It took two years till the London Borough of Lewisham got round to resurfacing the said roads till they were as smooth as glass. Not for long though. Due to the combination of bad workmanship and big lorries, the holes were back.

The local council were concerned about this and gave out a phone number on their website which they called the “Pothole Hotline”. This was to show that they were taking the issue seriously and would get a team of workmen out there asap. They even called me back to confirm that they were dealing with the said pothole and I actually saw them doing the job.

English Builders

Across Europe there is a euphemism for shoddy workmanship. They groan, raise their eyebrows, shrug their shoulders and say “English Builders”. Not a good reputation at all. But buildings aside take a look at the state of the roads, at least in London. Like all products in the UK it’s all about show. They look fantastic when they are new but the cracks start to show very soon.

Before you know it the road builders are back, with single lane traffic flows and temporary traffic lights. What an absolute pain. If they could do it right the first time it would last so much longer. Add to that the fact that they are constantly digging up the roads to move pipes and cables and you get more and more frustrated road users.

Outsourcing

So if it’s true that road builders in other parts of Europe do it better, for example in Sweden, then why not bring them in to do our roads and teach our chaps a thing or two. Or we could send them over there and come back with the skills. It’s all very well nipping off to the portakabin to have your umpteenth cup of tea, but I have to risk my neck every time I cycle around town because you can’t do your job as well you should.

Is it the builders fault or the contractors? Given the quality of English cuisine the average builder is not one to know good workmanship from bad, so I would say that the onus falls on the bosses. But isn’t it in their interest to make their products perishable rather than have a road building consultant from overseas as part of the team. If they can place the blame elsewhere then they can secure yet another contract, followed by another bad job that will need repair as soon as you know it.

I can put up with it, complain, move country or get a hovercraft. I’ll let you decide

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This entry was posted on Saturday, February 16th, 2008 at 2:01 pm and is filed under misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.