Strathearn roads and pavements cracking up due to snow and ice

Jan 22 2010 by Lynn Duke, Strathearn Herald

AS snow and ice thaw, Strathearn residents are facing a new danger on their roads and pavements.

The worst weather in 30 years has left roads and pavements fractured and pitted as water in existing cracks expands into ice causing surfaces to break up and potholes to form.

Drivers are having to cope with an increasing number of hazardous holes in the road and pedestrians are having difficultynegotiating deteriorating footpaths and pavements.

In Crieff’s Strathearn Terrace, cracks run the length of the pavement causing one resident to remark that it looked like someone had been smashing it up with a sledgehammer.

“The whole lot needs to be renewed”, she said. “Strathearn Terrace is horrendous. You’ve really got to be careful where you walk. It looks like it’s all subsiding.

“It doesn’t seem long since it was repaired before and now it’s worse than ever. There’s going to be lot of upheaval in the area before it is restored properly.”

But it’s not just one street that has been affected.

“Dollerie Terrace is not much better either. It’s also very cracked in places. The snow and ice have made all the wee faults ten times worse. The council have got their work cut out for them.”

A council spokesperson said that PKC was aware of the Strathearn Terrace defect and would be making efforts to repair it as soon as is possible. He stated: “The council’s resources are still concentrated on winter maintenance of the road and pathway network.

“Once normal resources are available we will continue with our schedule of carriageway and pavement inspections, and repairs will be prioritised over the coming months.

“At this stage it is too early to gauge exactly how much damage has been done to road and pavement surfaces by the weather, but we are aware that additional repairs will certainly be necessary.

“We would ask for the co-operation and patience of residents while we complete the current winter maintenance operation. We will then carry out repairs as quickly as we possibly can.”

Most of the Strath’s main road network is the responsibility of BEAR Scotland. Their spokesperson told the Herald that following a period of adverse weather, it is normal to observe an increase in the number of potholes.

He said: “To ensure the safety of the travelling public, BEAR Scotland carries out weekly safety inspections to identify any defects on roads or footways which require immediate attention across the trunk road network.

“The timescales of the repair of defects depend upon their location and severity. For instance, defects identified as a priority are made safe at the time of identification and are then permanently repaired within 28 days.”