Road misery

MORE inconvenience for drivers... resurfacing work on Lees Road

Problem tarmac to be ripped up again
MOTORISTS face yet more misery when a 300-yard stretch of Lees Road is resurfaced for the third time in seven weeks.

Embarrassed contractors have once more been told to rip up a problem section of Tarmac laid between Moorhey Street and Brewerton Road because it is not up to standard.

Oldham Council is insisting Surrey-based contractors CEMEX carry out the work again — on the next two Sundays.

One furious motorist who drives the route daily to get to work, said: “This has been going on for two months. It’s ludicrous. The road surface is horrendous. It plays havoc with the tyres and suspension. It’s like a slalom, trying to dodge raised drain covers — it’s also a potential death-trap for motorcyclists.”

Councillor John McCann said work was being carried out on Sundays to keep disruption to a minimum.

He apologised for the inconvenience to motorists, but added: “When the new road surface was put down, council officials were not satisfied and rightly flagged this up.

“We would have been failing in our duty to provide good quality roads for motorists if we had not done this.

The council and the contractors have been working hard to solve this problem with the road-covering material over the last two weeks.

“I would also like to point out that the cost of the extra work, including traffic diversions and labour costs, are being met by the suppliers and are not costing council taxpayers a penny.”

Dean Welburn, director of CEMEX Surfacing, said: “We wish to apologise to the local community for any inconvenience caused during the asphalt resurfacing on Lees Road.

“Last weekend, a large section of the work was successfully completed with the technical issues of the previous occasions having been resolved.

“We are fully committed to completing the remaining works as soon as possible.”