Road Works...

[Lancs Lad]

Semi interesting article.

The real impact of roadworks - and why they're set to get worse

There is a fine balance between the benefits of improved infrastructure, versus the cost of disruption. Does the country have it right?

www.bbc.co.uk

Out of interest...does anyone know how TM is charged these days?
Is it a setup fee then daily rate or per contract?
New set of 3 Ways sprung up this week on our main A road again... This morning a not a scrap of work in carriageway..nothing ..not even a chapter 8 protruding over kerb. Surely be beneficial to get them packed up Friday night til Monday am...or that cost em. 10 weeks of it ahead. I predict local FB groups be in over drive again

 

[JD450A]

Depends on the outfit.

IMHO TM is a industry that is fully out of hand and needs sorting. Too much bollocks and rigidity without applying any sense.

 

[Monkeybusiness]

A mate needs to work on/across a footpath alongside a road to pretty much nowhere (it used to lead to a car park but that’s now closed so there are minimal cars in and out of half a dozen houses, and even fewer pedestrians). This is in Nantwich, Cheshire East. Thrre is another footpath on the other side of the road, so it’s not going to inconvenience anyone.
There is no digging or reinstatement etc involved - he is pruning some trees, the actual job is worth £800 max and will take less than a day.
The council are insisting on him closing the footpath - their fee is £2k, and he will have to spend an additional £1k plus on a firm to do the paperwork and set the ‘tm’ up.
It’s an absolute joke (his mistake was talking to the council in the first place - he should have JFD it)….
I am going to a job just inside the M25 in the morning to prune some branches away from 3 new streetlights on a re-worked t-junction that a customer of mine installed as part of their planning permission for a new warehouse. The total cost of the roadworks was £1.2million apparently (new traffic lights, a bit of road widening, 3 new pedestrian crossings, associated tm and paperwork). The council are refusing to adopt the finished road (and subsequently release a £1million bond!) because of ridiculously trivial matters (including the twigs we have to prune tomorrow).
We set a crane up in a very quiet cul-de-sac in Crewe earlier in the year to lift a fallen tree off a house. Our work restricted access to 3 other houses - all the neighbours knew each other and got on well, and the affected parties moved their cars out before we started so they weren’t inconvenienced. We were finished and packing up by 2pm when 5 of the cleanest-hiviz-wearing clipboard-wielding Cheshire East Highways mongtards showed up and started kicking off as we hadn’t booked any roadspace. They told me I would be fined - when I asked them what for (we hadn’t dug up the road etc, and were no longer blocking the highway) they muttered and flapped and eventually fecked off. Twats - the roads around here are absolutely knackered but there are multiple salaried staff doing bugger all other than trying to raise revenue through paperwork exercises.

 

[Giles]

mogman lifted a bridge off for me last year, we were going to do it from the small quiet road next to it but derby council wanted £2k and £1.5k tm and 3 months notice to shut it for half a day. we surveyed it at 5 cars in 4 hours and diversion was only 400 yards,

we ran him on dry ground thanks to the dry start to the year and got it done in 20 mins

like you say best just getting on with it, or working private property lol

 

[DaveDCB]

So what’s worse is I have to pay for two road closures because apparently I can’t have two different companies working within the same road closure.. absolute scam!!

The last one I had was for a new water connection, so while they had the road closed for a full week for a 2 hour job btw. I thought I’ll dig down the verge for the fibre ducts , within the hour the council shiny hi-viz lady pulled up in her milk float kicking off at me for getting soil on the road and not putting extra cones out!! Reminded her I wasn't working for water board and she went on her merry way. Moral of the story is don’t tell them
Hands are tied when doing these new connections as the book says close it , when infact you can traffic light and work from within the site safely but they all seem to have hearing difficulties / mates with a TM company!!

 

[Smiffy]

Temp traffic lights are about £400 a week to hire. Plus setup plus visit to change batteries every 4 days to 2 weeks depending on the lights, plus if your permit decides you need attendance then you have to have one guy doing that and not allowed to carry out any work not related to t.m.
T.m is really excessive in this country but I think that stems from the dangerous attitude drivers have around road works. If everyone saw the men at work sign, slowed to a sensible speed and was cautious, then it would be fine. Instead people spread up, jump the lights, drive far to close to operatives and hit the cones and a million other stupid things. I have been hit twice by wing mirrors walking, down the road in full head to tow hit vis, one time the BMW driver asked for my insurance details as they broke their mirror on my arm.
Then you have the pedestrians who think that it's a good idea to try and walk through the site as they are too impatient to walk around it.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Depends on the outfit.

IMHO TM is a industry that is fully out of hand and needs sorting. Too much bollocks and rigidity without applying any sense.

TM Must be the crappiest job in the world.
This is a good few hundred yard stretch coned off of a busy A6 with 3 way in middle but not a scrap of action in road as I said..
Imagine driving away on Friday night and thinking nice job lads let's piss off hundreds of folk all weekend. Job satisfaction..not..I couldn't do it. I'd be constantly thinking how I could minimise disruption it would do my head in.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Temp traffic lights are about £400 a week to hire. Plus setup plus visit to change batteries every 4 days to 2 weeks depending on the lights, plus if your permit decides you need attendance then you have to have one guy doing that and not allowed to carry out any work not related to t.m.
T.m is really excessive in this country but I think that stems from the dangerous attitude drivers have around road works. If everyone saw the men at work sign, slowed to a sensible speed and was cautious, then it would be fine. Instead people spread up, jump the lights, drive far to close to operatives and hit the cones and a million other stupid things. I have been hit twice by wing mirrors walking, down the road in full head to tow hit vis, one time the BMW driver asked for my insurance details as they broke their mirror on my arm.
Then you have the pedestrians who think that it's a good idea to try and walk through the site as they are too impatient to walk around it.

So in effect its cheaper to leave em up over weekend rather than pay to have them dragged away and put up again on Monday ?

 

[Smiffy]

So in effect its cheaper to leave em up over weekend rather than pay to have them dragged away and put up again on Monday ?

Yeah. Obviously regional but it's about £400-500 a visit for us.
Also other factors people forget like provisions for footpaths and safety zones. Sometimes the t.m is there just for pedestrians to use the road. Sometimes its so the lads doing the work can pull in. As they won't have the tickets nor the incentive, to put their own t.m up. When I was on the tools, the whole gang was chapter 8 trained and would pull in t.m and set out as required, as this is part of the permit system for our local cc.
It also takes so much to get the t.m to site now. 2vans at least to get a full setup out, one for lights and one for barriers. 4 way lights requires more vans again.

 

[Storrsy]

For me any job with TM is think of a price and double it in the hope I don't get it! A few times it's backfired. The last time I used it they didn't turn up until 2pm. Not ideal on a 3 day job

 

[Lancs Lad]

Yeah. Obviously regional but it's about £400-500 a visit for us.
Also other factors people forget like provisions for footpaths and safety zones. Sometimes the t.m is there just for pedestrians to use the road. Sometimes its so the lads doing the work can pull in. As they won't have the tickets nor the incentive, to put their own t.m up. When I was on the tools, the whole gang was chapter 8 trained and would pull in t.m and set out as required, as this is part of the permit system for our local cc.
It also takes so much to get the t.m to site now. 2vans at least to get a full setup out, one for lights and one for barriers. 4 way lights requires more vans again.

Nope looked for any of that . Pavements clear...decent verge etc. bonkers but can understand why if it's costing them 1k just to move em back over weekend

There's folk recycling pill packets to save the planet but let's have a few hundred cars idlling all weekend. Ace.

 

[groundworker]

There's a site going on near me at the moment which has temp lights up outside it. Not a roadworks job so road hasn't been dug up and the site doesn't encroach on the road at all, the hoarding is built up to the kerb line. No pavement on that side of the road so no need for pedestrians to walk in the road.

Opposite the site is a side road/the turning into a rail yard. This has temporary pedestrian crossing lights set up on it (there was no lights/zebra crossing beforehand). The yard is currently closed so there's no traffic going in and out anyway, doubt anyone has ever pressed the button to cross.

It's an ex industrial area with very wide roads and very few people walking around during the week when the site/yard would be operational.

So that's probably best part of a grand a week for the various signs, lights and cones which are doing absolutely nothing for anyone's safety all, I just drive right through them everyday and never had any problem.

It's a council job and been going on for months, serious money down the pan.

 

[V8Druid]

There's a site going on near me at the moment ........
It's a council job and been going on for months, serious PUBLIC money down the pan.

Fixed that for you ....... no accountability - yet again

 

[Storrsy]

Fixed that for you ....... no accountability - yet again

Total thread derail. But to get your blood pressure even higher have a read of this. £100million of public money to be spent on an empty prison which will probably never be used again all because some civil servants rushed into signing a contract with Duchy of Cornwall!

‘Catastrophic’ MoJ leasing of jail with toxic gas set to cost more than £100m

MPs criticise 10-year deal struck in ‘blind panic’ to rent Dartmoor prison, where high levels of radon had been detected

www.theguardian.com

 

[Lancs Lad]

Total thread derail. But to get your blood pressure even higher have a read of this. £100million of public money to be spent on an empty prison which will probably never be used again all because some civil servants rushed into signing a contract with Duchy of Cornwall!

‘Catastrophic’ MoJ leasing of jail with toxic gas set to cost more than £100m

MPs criticise 10-year deal struck in ‘blind panic’ to rent Dartmoor prison, where high levels of radon had been detected

www.theguardian.com

Still can't understand what the issue is with a prison being full of Radon...

 

[hiluxman]

My Mrs does tm as part of her job for the council. Most of their works are on stop go boards. She says it's scary how many speed through, put the foot down because because they don't want to stop.

They get loads of abuse, not that my Mrs is bothered about that, she puts them straight in their place. But it'll probably be the same idiots shouting abuse/tareing through that complain the council aren't getting things done.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Total thread derail. But to get your blood pressure even higher have a read of this. £100million of public money to be spent on an empty prison which will probably never be used again all because some civil servants rushed into signing a contract with Duchy of Cornwall!

‘Catastrophic’ MoJ leasing of jail with toxic gas set to cost more than £100m

MPs criticise 10-year deal struck in ‘blind panic’ to rent Dartmoor prison, where high levels of radon had been detected

www.theguardian.com

Good job the money is going to a worthy cause

 

[Monkeybusiness]

Total thread derail. But to get your blood pressure even higher have a read of this. £100million of public money to be spent on an empty prison which will probably never be used again all because some civil servants rushed into signing a contract with Duchy of Cornwall!

‘Catastrophic’ MoJ leasing of jail with toxic gas set to cost more than £100m

MPs criticise 10-year deal struck in ‘blind panic’ to rent Dartmoor prison, where high levels of radon had been detected

www.theguardian.com

£100mill will be the tip of the iceberg - this little gem is included within that article…
‘More than 500 former inmates and prison officers are bringing legal claims against the government, claiming their health was put at risk’.

 

[V8Druid]

Total thread derail. But to get your blood pressure even higher have a read of this. £100million of public money to be spent on an empty prison which will probably never be used again all because some civil servants rushed into signing a contract with Duchy of Cornwall!

‘Catastrophic’ MoJ leasing of jail with toxic gas set to cost more than £100m

MPs criticise 10-year deal struck in ‘blind panic’ to rent Dartmoor prison, where high levels of radon had been detected

www.theguardian.com

well I understood that it's the landlords responsibility to keep their properties fit for rent ..... send wing nut Jr. the bills
bloody scandalous performance though

 

[Smiffy]

well I understood that it's the landlords responsibility to keep their properties fit for rent ..... send wing nut Jr. the bills
bloody scandalous performance though

Not the case with big commercial properties. Big commercial properties under lease usually require the tenant to take care of maintenance as the rent otherwise would be to high.