Lisa O`Brien Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Reading Tweets from people saying the Mancunian Way, a major road in Manchester has developed yet another sinkhole. People are saying that for the days or weeks it will take to repair, about the major disruption it will cause to their lives. Reminds me of Tokyo. I was sitting with friends in a cafe at 3 AM. There were workmen nearby, drilling/digging up a road. Floodlights lit up so they could see properly. The road needed fixing. They did it. There and then. No hanging around. This was back in the 1990's. Why is the UK so backward when it comes to things like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Because we have regulations limiting the amount of disturbance to people's sleep which can be caused in built-up areas? And let's face it, a sinkhole is a very different kettle of fish from yer average hole in the ground that needs filling: it's far larger, requires much more in the way of heavy plant, may compromise other areas which are seemingly not affected, and has to be stabilised properly to prevent the problem from recurring. You can't simply patch it on the top: I've seen that locally in a bus lane where the substructure has subsided and the repairs people have simply filled in the top with tarmac. Which is fine until the underlying structure subsides still further and the problem recurs. They will never sort it unless they inject some sort of filler *into* the bottom of the cavity and fill it completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 Because we have regulations limiting the amount of disturbance to people's sleep which can be caused in built-up areas? And let's face it, a sinkhole is a very different kettle of fish from yer average hole in the ground that needs filling: it's far larger, requires much more in the way of heavy plant, may compromise other areas which are seemingly not affected, and has to be stabilised properly to prevent the problem from recurring. You can't simply patch it on the top: I've seen that locally in a bus lane where the substructure has subsided and the repairs people have simply filled in the top with tarmac. Which is fine until the underlying structure subsides still further and the problem recurs. They will never sort it unless they inject some sort of filler *into* the bottom of the cavity and fill it completely. Well whether a sinkhole or a hole it still needs fixing. This same place was repaired a year ago. Now it's back to its former sorry state again. I don't know if people live near the Mancunian Way or not. I know it's a major road,but as I haven't lived in Manchester for 19 years now,it could well be a built up residential area. But people are Tweeting that it is going to cause massive disruption to their lives.I was just saying that, normal hole or sinkhole, this would not have been tolerated in Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 Turns out it's not another sinkhole as people have been saying, it's the same one from a year ago. They had to do major reconstruction work on it. Can't for the life of me understand why the whole thing would take a year. Major work or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 As far as I am aware another sink hole has not happened. They are checking the repairs from the sink hole last year and have closed the road for 2 days. The sink hole last year was enormous and it took a great deal of planning and work to correct it. Rather this than the road collapse again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terpsichore Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Oh dear. Another impediment on my way to class at KNT. The last one occurred just before the Swan Lake intensive last year and caused a lot of delay and inconvenience. I am not sure bureaucracy is the answer Alison. Or at least not the complete one. And it is certainly not European red tape for look how quickly the French built motorways, high speed railways and nuclear power stations - not that that is necessarily a good thing. Also the Japanese have regulations too. I had a similar experience to Lisa's. I was caught in a train between Kobe and Kyoto when strong winds from a typhoon blew the overhead wires down. At first the carriage was plunged into darkness but shortly afterwards the emergency lighting kicked in. At the bottom of the railway cutting I glimpsed a maintenance crew in clean white overalls proceeding at the double. Within the hour power was restored and we were on out way. Contrast that with some of the excuses I used to hear for late and cancelled trains when I used to commute to London. "Leaves on the line". "The wrong type of snow" and even a cow on the line between Earlsfield and Clapham Junction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 Someone Tweeted it has taken them a two hours drive in what is normally a 20 minute journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Someone Tweeted it has taken them a two hours drive in what is normally a 20 minute journey. Believe me ... that can happen driving around Manchester whether there are road works or not! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 And, according to the news, several major roads were closed this morning due to flash flooding overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 And, according to the news, several major roads were closed this morning due to flash flooding overnight. Crikey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 And, according to the news, several major roads were closed this morning due to flash flooding overnight. You think that's bad - flash floods have closed our local outdoor swimming pool 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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