A series of potholes in Tring are continuing to cause residents distress, despite having been mended by Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) a mere few months ago.
In the second edition of TRINGnews back in March, it was reported that potholes on Station Road were causing major issues for residents, as the rainwater-filled fissures had allegedly damaged around 15 vehicles.
The article stated that HCC had repaired the potholes earlier this year, but after the repairs had failed, the site was under review. Despite being repaired by HCC once again, the potholes have now returned with a vengeance.
On X, the Everything Tring account shared new photos of the potholes, showing repairs had been completed on Station Road but had failed to fix the problem.
The post, which was shared on Sunday, September 15, said: “Well, well, Herts Highways. Your pothole repairs along Station Road, Tring, appear to have a shorter lifespan than an MP’s promise! Check these out, repaired only months ago!”
A spokesperson for HCC said: “We carried out a number of repairs on potholes on Station Road earlier this year, after the cold and very wet winter weather damaged the road surface.
“We aim to make the most significant potholes safe within 24 hours but the majority of potholes that are big enough to need rapid attention receive a first-time permanent repair either within five days or within 20 days, depending on factors like the size of the pothole and how busy the road is. Smaller, less urgent, potholes are repaired as part of planned road resurfacing.
“We encourage road users to report potholes, or any other defect, to us online at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/highwayfaults. This ensures that they are in our system and, even if we can’t repair them immediately, we can use the information to help us plan our maintenance programmes.”
Looking at the image shown the reason for failure seem quite clear;-
1. Poor preparation, existing surface probably not clean and dry.
2. Probable absence of bony coat (to anchor the “repair” to the substrate.
3. Failure to apply an adequate (if any) sealant to the vertical face of the adjacent surface.
4. Inadequate compaction of the repair. “Smoothing” the repair with a vibrating plate or lightweight roller is not enough to ensure durability, you Ned to compact the surface until it is hard, achieving maximum possible density and “interlocking” of the new surface,.
I think there may well be more failures around!.