Nice bit of blacktop, not laid so well. I'm no botanist, but the little green fella looks like the genus crappus tarmacadamus to me...
Spotted by [Howmuch] last week, I photographed it today… somewhere on the new ring road. Nice new pavement, already succumbing to weeds. Another indicator of the attention to detail shown throughout the project. How long before they’re relaying it?
I deliberately haven’t given an exact location, because I think the guys from the Express & Star probably need a good walk. Surfing the web all day can be so tedious…
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Hello Bob,
It’s not the ringroad it’s Walsall College. We’ve let them know about the problem a while back.
I don’t know. The stuff the road gets blamed for.
Incidentally, now irt’s operational people are really starting to see the difference in journey times.
Dan, how’s life in the press office at Walsall?
I’ve thought carefully about this one, and whilst the pavement here may have been laid by contractors working on the College rather than the ring road, it remains the public foot way. The textured tramline slabs at the upper left are the inlay layout for the pedestrian crossing over the ring road opposite the Walkways building. The tarmac both sides of the divider was clearly laid from the same batch at the same time – the shade and texture are identical. 60 cm to the right of this picture, a palisade sectional fence screens of the front of the college piazza (if that’s what you could call it) – paved in limestone grey pavers.
On that basis I would say that the Council is responsible – if only for kicking the contractors up the backside – because it’s part of a project and that’s what project management means, not finger pointing. Sorry, I know it’s not your bag, but there you go.
The ring road justly gets the blame for a lot of stuff, and workmanship on some of it is clearly hurried. I noticed today, whilst waiting in traffic to cross the Arboretum junction (no shortening of journey time for me; at best it’s cost millions just to have nothing substantially change) that weeks were sprouting in places between the kerbs and tarmac on some of the refuges. This early, that doesn’t bode well. I notice also that there seems to be a bit of a problem with drainage on the corner by Queen Mary’s when there’s heavy rain.
Wether we like it or not, a lot of money has been spent on this project in our name, and we deserve to see it done properly.
Best wishes
Bob
Wait a minute Dan, this argument of yours “it’s not us, it’s them” reminds me of something…
http://tinyurl.com/ndeckf
I don’t drive to Walsall these days, but I’ve been meaning to try a typical journey- the only time I ve done so was before ring road completion, where a journey at 11:30pm from the Manor, round the ring road to the Arboretum
balls upjunction took about 3 times longer because I had to stop at every damned light.I suppose it’s only right I should test the theory that it’s brilliant now it’s done. I personally doubt it very much, but the theory needs testing.
Just imagine, if the people that laid the turf on some sections had only done as good a job with the plants as this lot…
Hello Stymaster,
Give the ringroad a try now its operational. You may well be suprised.
Dan
Hi Bob,
Life in the press office is fine thanks. There is truly never a dull day in Walsall.
Thanks for your considered and constructive update. Hmmm. It’s always a tough one. When does your bit of land finish and where your neighbours start?
Clearly, the council got it wrong with the half-filled pothole – thanks for the reminder yamyam – and got slated as a result.
You are spot on in saying that money has been spent and people deserve to see it done properly.
I can certainly pass this through to the engineers who are responsible for the road. I’m aware that there is still a period of what’s called ‘snagging’. That’s the period when the contractors are contractually responsible for making improvements and repairs. That’s the same with any project. It may well be that the isues you highlight are known to them. Either way, it’s good to be told twice and I’ll certainly make sure they are alerted to your issues.
As far as journey times are concerned, anecdotally there is a feeling that it has speeded things up.
Dan Slee
Walsall Council press office