Pothole and traffic woes highlighted in North East Lincolnshire rural roads
Resident raises concerns about road safety and maintenance delays
North East Lincolnshire Council has said its highways team is working through a backlog of work, with the weather this winter contributing to a “significantly higher number of potholes” this year. It comes as the state of some of the borough’s rural roads has been raised by a village resident.
Paul Brewster, from Ashby cum Fenby, gave the LDRS a tour in early March of road pothole problems near Ashby cum Fenby and Waltham. He had repeatedly reported potholes over the previous six weeks.
This includes on the A18 Barton Street, between where it meets the B1203 at Ashby Hill and the roundabout to go to Barnoldby le Beck. Also, on the B1203 between Waltham and the borough’s boundary.
Other concerns he has include the quality of A18 cat’s eyes, cleanliness of some signage, and a narrow road at Ashby cum Fenby, Thoroughfare, being used as a cut-through for drivers heading to the likes of Tetney and Holton le Clay, causing verge damage. A council spokesperson confirmed plans to assess its traffic levels.
“I’ve rang today and for the last six weeks about this,” he said, as he highlighted a pothole on the A18. Mr Brewster said the council had a duty of care in “making sure that the roads are fit and safe.
“They say, ‘oh, we’ve got engineers that go out.’ Why don’t they do something then?”
“That one in the centre of the road there, you watch somebody with a motorbike hit that, you’re a goner,” he said of one deep “trough” pothole, on the A18. Council highways have repaired this and other adjacent potholes in the past week on this road.
B1203 potholes currently remain. These include several close to the Waltham village sign.
Mr Brewster felt the villages of Ashby cum Fenby area missed out on focus on maintaining infrastructure. “Basically, it’s a forgotten world out here.”
He believed closure days were needed on the A18 and B1203 to properly sort out the roads’ issues. “They only come out and do anything when there is a problem reported, they don’t have any routine maintenance.” He also called for more strategic thought when issues are reported with multiple issues seen-to together.
Thoroughfare ‘rat run’
A major concern of Mr Brewster’s was the state of Thoroughfare, and adjacent verges. He said people used it as a rat run to get to the likes of Tetney.
But it is “just one car width. So if you meet a car, you’ve got to pull up on the grass verge.
“In my opinion, this ought to be a one-way. Because the structure of the roads isn’t capable of taking the amount of traffic.” The other option Mr Brewster suggested was to create lay-bys.
During the tour with Mr Brewster, the LDRS witnessed a notable number of vehicles in late afternoon heading eastwards. Several verges were churned up, muddy quagmires.
Council response
A council spokesperson confirmed it is “aware of the issues raised” concerning the A18, B1203, and Thoroughfare. “As with the rest of the UK, throughout this winter we have seen a significantly higher number of potholes develop compared to previous years, and February in particular was very busy, with potholes forming overnight in some instances.
“This is due to the combination of prolonged wet weather and fluctuating temperatures.” The council follows a prioritised repair strategy, meaning defects are assessed and scheduled based on level of risk.
“This often results in repairs on busier classified roads with higher traffic levels, such as Barton Street, being completed sooner. Now that temperatures have stabilised and conditions have become drier, the rate at which new potholes are forming has started to reduce.
“Our highway teams continue to work hard to address the backlog that accumulated over late winter.” The spokesperson said priority repairs were carried out on the A18 section on two days last week and further repairs will take place over the next month on the B1203 between Waltham and Brigsley.
Road signs are checked as part of routine inspections, with any found dirty prioritised and warning signs cleaned first due to road safety importance. Informational or repeater signs are included in the council’s annual cleansing programme, delivered in late spring, when the risk of algae and spray soiling is lower.
“The A18 Barton Street is scheduled for sectional closures in late summer to allow us to carry out cyclic maintenance including grass cutting, gully emptying and road‑marking refreshment.”
“We recognise the concerns raised about traffic levels and verge condition,” said the spokesperson on Thoroughfare. “Our team plans to collect user data over a period of time to understand how the road is currently being used and to determine whether intervention is required.”
Possible subsequent works will be prioritised in line with similar issues elsewhere in the borough and put into future maintenance schedules where appropriate.