Grantham Journal reader writes letter to complain about large potholes under Dysart Road bridge
A letter from Journal reader Lynda North from Grantham:
After writing an email of complaint to Lincolnshire CC regarding the potholes under the bridge on Dysart Road and the large pothole on the junction of St Catherine’s Road and Harrowby Road, I received the following response from Kyra Nettle, Local Highways Manager on Friday.
As Lt Col J G Adkins suggested in his Journal letter on February 25, it seems that LCC “have NO control over the contractors they employ” (Bafour Beatty) and can only make hollow promises for any future repairs.
After fully investigating this matter Kyra Nettle has provided the following details:
"Thank you for contacting us regarding potholes on Dysart Road and St Catherine’s Road in Grantham.
"Unfortunately, we are experiencing delays with getting a visit to this location arranged. The works required for this location are currently in a backlog with our contractor, Balfour Beatty, and we are unable to provide a current date for when these will be conducted.
"We are currently experiencing issues with finding a safe time to do the works with minimal disruption, but this is an urgent priority for us. Please rest assured that we are in communication with the contractors to get these works conducted as soon as possible.
"The service fully acknowledges that the service provided to you on this occasion did not meet the standards that we would expect, as we are currently experiencing delays with our contractor. Please accept our sincere apologies for this and any inconvenience this may have caused you.
"We hope this response has answered all of the concerns that you have raised with us. If you feel the answers provided do not fully answer all of your concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us in order to discuss the next stages of your complaint.”
As I recently counted 425 vehicles driving under the Dysart Road bridge in half an hour, which equates to 850 cars per hour, around midday on Sunday February 13 (see my recent Journal letter of February 18 2022), it seems that it will be impossible to find a “safe time” to carry out any repair work, but the holes still need repairing urgently before the exposed sensor wires are damaged beyond repair and will then need total replacement, which will involve even more time and expense.
One can only wonder how much LCC has already spent on compensation to drivers who have had their cars damaged by these and other potholes in Grantham.
Surely it would be much safer and probably cheaper in the long run to chase Balfour Beatty and insist such urgent work is completed ASAP, rather than spending/wasting three weeks replacing perfectly good pedestrian crossing lights beside the river on St Catherine’s Road and also recently resurfacing Crossgill Close, a small cul-de-sac, neither of which could be classed as urgent?
What do you think? Send your letters to comment@granthamjournal.co.uk
