'Come up with a plan' for long-term maintenance of roads, says Inverness townsman
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After decades of road upheaval, a city sports writer and retired PE teacher is calling for “some sort of plan”.
Charles Bannerman has claimed the constant digging up of roads and pavements is leading to potholes further down the line.
He claims Bruce Gardens, a street that leads from the A82 to near the Caledonian Canal, is like a battlefield due to the uneven surface. And he wants Highland Council to think of the way in which roads are reconstructed after vital utility works.
Asking council officers to check on roads in the months, weeks and years after they’ve been dug up and refilled to make sure they are in a usable condition – and if not the cost of repair given back to the utility company that dug them up.
Mr Bannerman said: “It seems to be a cottage industry to dig up roads in Inverness.
“People are pretty scunnered with it.
“For years now they have been digging up Culduthel Road or Drummond Road. In fact, Drummond Road is simply full of abandoned holes.
“The number of times we are stuck at traffic lights 24/7 around the city is quite incredible. And how many times are we sitting there when nothing is happening? It is a daily occurrence.
“We have been having cables laid throughout the city, and you can see where the road has been dug up, and where it has been put back together.
“My concern is not the development, but I am sorely disappointed with the way in which months and years later the same spots become potholes.
“The problem is that after works, the roads and pavements are not sealed properly, and with the Highland wind and rain, there is no doubt they will open back up in a matter of months. Even if a small percentage are not done properly they open up and create a safety issue for anyone using the pavement, or the roads.”
He added: “The potholes we have now, are the problems that were created years ago.
“I want to know how many more years this will go on for because the legacy is considerable. I doubt there are many that have not experienced a problem with a pothole on the road or pavement.
“I am in no way challenging the need for roads and pavements to be dug up – I am asking for all work to be to a specific standard so that it does not give us even more problems than we have.”
Inverness councillor Duncan Macpherson said Mr Bannerman was making a very good point.
“It is something I have raised in Highland Council and raised concerns with officers about,” he said.
“We need to make sure that the many contractors and utility companies that dig up the roads are held to account for the proper and sustainable reconstruction of the road.
“Otherwise it is the good taxpayers of Highland Council that pick up the bill for these multimillion-pound companies’ shoddy work.”
A council spokeswoman said: “The reinstatement of road surfaces following excavation remains the responsibility of the organisation which carried out the works. Road authorities have powers to inspect works to ensure that utility companies are meeting their obligations.
“The traffic management at road works, cones, signs and barriers, remains the responsibility of those undertaking the works.”
Potholes can be reported at the council’s website: www.highland.gov.uk
READ: Giant pothole in Inverness must be fixed as a priority
