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£10m project will plug our potholes
Reporter: Janice Barker & Dawn Marsden
Date online: 22 July 2010
Last night’s full Oldham Council meeting
Oldham’s potholed roads will get a £10million “quality” improvement over the next four years.
The spending is part of £32 million to be invested over the next four years in big capital schemes.
The aim is to improve roads and avoid future costly maintenance and the cost of insurance claims.
Previously, spending was on main local roads whose conditions were classed as worst.
Now the programme will concentrate on other roads deteriorating by 10 per cent a year or more, and where there are high levels of compensation claims.
The work includes resurfacing, new footpaths, and new roadways. The full programme will be decided by a detailed survey, public feedback and a analysis of insurance claims.
From 2010, each ward will be allocated £25,000 annually for local improvements. The six District Partnerships will have to identify and tackle the maintenance priorities for each of their areas.
Councillor John McCann, Cabinet member for regeneration and environment, said: “The highways network has been declining for some time and this is a major undertaking by Oldham Council to prioritise the its improvement.
“This programme will improve safety, reduce costs of compensation claims and significantly improve the local environment — especially in residential areas where a significant step-up will be made on those unclassified roads which have deteriorated sharply in the last four years.
“This will be a top-quality scheme with a view to providing lasting benefits, as opposed to the current reliance on temporary patching.”
The £32 million investment also includes £5 million for work associated with Metrolink in the town centre; £350,000 for gateways and corridors into Oldham; £2 million for key property purchases to support regeneration; and £2.5 million for a Greater Manchester Investment Fund for major renewals; £6 million for the council’s buildings to make better use of space, get more staff in fewer buildings, and created flexible working areas.
Markets at Tommyfield, Shaw and Royton will get £363,000 improvements; £2 million will be spent improving the council’s IT services for residents and businesses; and £250,000 for community safety schemes like alleygating.
Comments
I hope this time some of the money goes up to the appalling roads in Saddleworth, they pay the most council tax and have the worst quality roads, there's massive pot holes in Huddersfield road through the centre of Diggle which need sorting. And I hope, unlike most repairs, the reinstatements don't sink. Why do they plug holes in concrete roads with tarmac that'll clearly sink? It's pointless, but cheap no doubt.
why on earth are they resurfacing the slip road off the bypass towards manchester street?
yes this was riddled with pot holes but was only actually recently resurfaced and then the pot holes that appeared where filled in.
huddersfield road in diggle has much worse potholes than this and is still awaiting the first repairs since last year!
'Hello! Is that the council?'
'Yes, can I help you?'
'A massive hole has appeared on Ripponden Road'.
'Oh, don't worry madam. I will get someone to look into it.'
And that's about as far as you'll get making a complaint with some of the council employees.
It would save a lot of money if they repaired the holes properly in the first place instead of doing a shoddy job and having to return to do it again, and more than once. EG. Manchester Rd manhole covers near the vets are sinking again after 4 lots of tarmac have been thrown on top of them. Resurfacing ? Try New Earth St more potholes than surface
Fedupoldhamer should try going to Diggle, resurfacing where wall repaired plus a temporary repair area near Sunfield Lane pending more works along Huddersfield Rd....all this year
Morgana 60 should try facts: manhole covers are United Utilities responsibility, not the councils, but UU have to make billions profits now it has been privatised.
i'm guessing what the usual moaners here are really trying to say (although they wont admit it) is well done oldham council for finally stumping up the cash and getting this sorted. You are probbaly the only council bothering with the roads, as the whole UK is falling a part.
Just make sure you dont blow this good news story by wasting money putting in speed humps!
Realist, i go through diggle almost everyday. there are loads and loads of potholes and broken surfaces all the way through diggle. most of which have been there since last year and even the year before.
the resufaced patch at sunfield only appeared after the bad snow, but was so bad it should have been repaired immediately. but it took reverend duncan rhodes (a real peoples champion note!) in the paper to kick ombc into toch and get it done. 5 months after they first appeared!
and as for the lovely new full resurfaced road where the retaining wall was rebuilt, this was actually part of the wall works as the contractor was oblidged to repair any damage to the road. the council didnt do this.
and that actual bit of road was fine before the works began.
its a great patch of road though! i keep riding up and down on it to remind me what the roads should be like! you might have seen me!
The Chronicle has many virtues but repairing potholes surely isn't one of them. Has anyone bothered to report these potholes to the council? I've reported some and most got fixed pretty quickly, to be fair.
Anyway, I read this as relaying roads, which a lot need.
But that's Oldham for you - Sounds good? There must be a black lining.
Have Your Say
How about 10 bob for Ripponden Road up above Denshaw village. The pot holes are "holding hands" up there. How about a picture Oldham Chron?
By Get it right @ 22/07/2010 12:24:58