Bad vibrations: Fed-up residents plagued by pothole noise
Residents say they've been plagued by noise and vibrations caused by lorries driving over their pothole-ridden road.
Glyn Fisher, who lives in Stafford, is calling on Staffordshire County Council to fix the defects he first reported to the authority in December 2019.
But he says the noise of large vehicles passing over the uneven surface, on Doxey Road close to the Reed Drive junction, has become more noticeable in recent weeks and months as residents have remained at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Fisher, 69, said one neighbour was concerned the vibrations were affecting his house. He added: “It’s a noise irritant and there are vibrations.
“We’re getting a considerable amount of lorries – 16 tons unladen. I don’t think they should be coming through a small village – especially when we have a primary school along the road.”
Tony Pearce, who represents Doxey and Castletown on Stafford Borough Council, has also reported the defects to Staffordshire County Council and raised the issue at a Doxey Parish Council meeting.
He said: “Lorries are using that road on a regular basis. They are picking up hardcore from the former Universal site to take to the motorway.
“The road surface drops by about four inches and every time a lorry goes over it there is a loud bang and everything vibrates. One resident who lives right next to it reckons it is causing damage to his house.
“It has been going on for some time – they started demolishing the building about six weeks ago. The vehicles could go up to Junction 14, but I know it is quite a detour for them.
“At the very least Staffordshire County Council ought to be mending these potholes.”
Councillor Helen Fisher, former cabinet member for Highways and Transport at Staffordshire County Council, said: “We know that potholes are a concern to people and our highways crews make every effort to fix them as soon as possible. We do have a huge road network here in Staffordshire, with around 6,000km of roads and last year our crews fixed around 30,000 potholes.
“All reported defects are inspected as soon as possible and assessed for their severity, which is decided by considering a number of factors like the location, size and the risk posed to public safety. Any defect which poses an immediate risk is dealt with as a priority, and we aim to repair dangerous potholes within seven days
“Our highways crews do carry out monthly inspections of Doxey Road and will continue to monitor lesser priority potholes which will be dealt with when resources are available.
“Our Report It system remains the easiest way for people to tell us about local road problems such as potholes, and provides automatic updates as crews complete repairs.”
