Poor standard of work is putting safety on the line

I FEEL that, after simmering for a long while about Lincolnshire County Council’s highways depart- ment, something has to be said.

I understand that the department received an award earlier this year and that it is also involved with the Road Safety Partnership. I think both of these factors should be reviewed.

Usually when roadworks are to take place, advance warning signs are placed out some time before the work commences, so that local residents get some notice of what is to occur.

This is even more important when road closures are involved.

It would appear that the county council relies on everyone reading the Lincolnshire Echo.

This week a section of road at Short Ferry, Fiskerton, has been closed for roadworks to be carried out on the Bardney side of the road bridge.

Were any signs placed out to warn people of this? No.

The first I knew of this occurring was at a parish council meeting last week.

On Monday (September 14), I saw that some signs had been placed out in Fiskerton village. Not very informative, really – one sign in Chapel Road tells everyone that the diversion has finished.

Villagers can travel along Ferry Road oblivious of the total road closure, until they reach Five Mile Lane.

The road is then blocked off by cones and a sign indicating that the road is available to local residents.

It doesn’t let delivery drivers know where the closure starts or finishes, so after the driver of a 38-tonne truck turns around and follows the diversion, he finds he cannot get to the Tyrwhitt Arms Public House at Short Ferry from the other direction either.

For those entering Fiskerton from the Greetwell Road direction, the first sign the motorist will see is slightly before the Chapel Road junction, and it just tells people that the road is closed ahead.

Just another example of too many people in offices, and not enough engineers ensuring work is completed.

An example of unfinished work is right outside the Echo’s offices in the Brayford area of Lincoln.

Two years ago this month the road was resurfaced properly (not surface dressing), and an effort made to finish the job was carried out.

One of the requirements for double white lines are kick-in arrows.

At one end they haven’t painted one, which means that the double white lines are not enforceable should anyone care to overtake on them.

Another example of poor engineering locally is Hawthorn Road in Cherry Willingham. The road was closed 20 months ago for repairs and some resurfacing to be carried out.

At the junction with Hawthorn Avenue, a partial repair was carried out, and the “give way” lines removed.

Since then surface dressing work has been carried out, which is now falling apart, and the centre white lines have been replaced on the road. There are no “give way” lines, though.

The matter has been raised with the county council and I was told that they would have to wait until other lining work was being carried out in the area.

Surely the original contractors should be made to carry out the work as they haven’t finished the job properly.

Another potential danger involves the lack of road markings at Sewell Road/St Anne’s Road in Lincoln – a busy junction near the hospital.

Surface dressing work has been carried out, and the replacement lines have worn away. You would have thought that with the works carried out in Greetwell Road recently they could have made this junction safe.

Lastly, some while ago, surface dressing work was carried out on the road between Stixwould and the Bucknall Road.

The hazard lines for the centre of the road have never been replaced.

You can’t tell me that nobody from the Road Safety Partnership, a highways engineer, or a traffic police officer has never been along any of these roads and seen the problems I have raised.

They are more concerned about speed, perhaps, and not the real issues that should have been sorted out when works were done.

PAUL FISHWICK Fiskerton.