It’s not often I chortle just be reading a headline, but this one got me, oh yes it did:
And here’s the story:
Highway chiefs are hunting a phantom pothole filler after an enraged motorist poured concrete into a huge crater that closed the road for months. The work was carried out in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, as the mystery volunteer decided to patch up the road which has been shut since April.
But Cornwall Highways said the work was done ‘without consent’.
Colin Martin, Cornwall councillor for Lostwithiel and Lanreath, said: ‘The latest is that the road has been closed again and will remain closed until it is ‘properly’ repaired by Cormac, but they say this could be weeks away as all available teams have been diverted to filling smaller potholes on roads which are still open.
Here’s the pic of the vengeful road re-closing:
I’m just waiting for the metal screens to “disappear”… not that I would want anything like that to happen, of course.
I love it when officialdom gets a busted nose for their inefficiency. And I love it more when they get upset about it.
Here’s the background to all this:
So now you know.
They’re probably going to use hydraulic hammers to undo the repair, then “schedule” it for a few years away and close the road for the duration.
That’s how bureaucrats do it after all.
And then arrest the person who fixed the road for “illegal tampering” and “violating union regulations”.
If that’s concrete it’s not a cheap endeavor. Probably 20 bags or more. And the amount of water needed. And the time to do it. Maybe $500 for that repair + the labor. The fixer should confiscate the 4 fence panels for compensation, sell em on Facebook marketplace or craigslist or ebay or any local farmer.
When reached for a comment the head of public works explained ” Well the work has all the signs of an amateur. Whoever did this trowelled it flat and flush with the surrounding surface. Our roadway standards clearly require a 3 inch rounded elevated surface to promote water runoff. My 10 man crew is working double overtime to get through our backlog before November at our current rate of 15 per week………provided it doesn’t rain”.
In the US folks have been spray painting penises around the pot holes and that sped up their repair by the guvmint.
JQ
That happens over here too.
now if some concerned citizen could just readjust the traffic and speed cameras around here
JQ
Considering the size of the pothole, spray-painting a phallus around it to call attention would be impractical. Someone should have spray-painted a vagina instead. And since it was in Cornwall, they could’ve dubbed it “Camilla”.
Least the guy could’ve done was draw a “finger” in the concrete before it set up.
Finger prints!
Any construction engineers here? Doesn’t the concrete need to be curtained off to provide time for it to cure?
But what this story is missing is the resignation of the manager responsible for the maintenance of this road.
Resignation? That’s so adorable.
That “manager” should have been found under that patch.
Cure to 40% in 3 Days 98% in 30 days is the normal rule. i.e. Forms can be removed after 3 days. All depends on weather and Temp, assuming proper mixture. Deep pours require more time. Every Feb some newly built concrete structure collapses when badly poured and cured thaws outs on the first warm day because wrong or not enough additive have not been added. As always YMMV