I drove what has to be one of the most potholed roads in Wales
There is a video accompanying this article that’s already been on Facebook – and now everyone who’s seen it is already claiming that their road is actually the worst in Wales. It would seem to be the title everyone is keen to claim, but that no-one really wants.
Because everyone – especially at this time of year, when the weather has wreaked havoc on our road surfaces – knows a road near them that’s just hellish to drive. And when you’re driving down it, it feels like, surely, nowhere can possibly be worse – right?
My ‘most potholed road in Wales’ is one I use regularly – for my sins – as it saves a lot of time getting to M&S or Tesco at Fforestfach in Swansea. Otherwise you have to risk getting stuck in traffic on Cockett Road or Carmarthen Road. But there is a trade-off; one – it’s narrow and you just can’t get two cars side by side at some points and you have to stop and wait, sometimes for longer than you would wish; two, it’s really windy and there’s always a risk of clipping another car, or wing mirror, and; three – it’s like the proverbial Swiss cheese – absolutely full of holes!
Welcome to Ystrad Road – you won’t enjoy the ride (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
It’s a pretty bumpy journey (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
The road edges are also falling away (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
The road connects the top of Tycoch – Llwyn Mawr Road – to Waunarlwydd Road, Ystrad Road, and finally the B4295 Cwmbach Road between Cockett and Waunarlwydd. People use it, despite its faults, as you can travel quickly (or as quick as it’s possible on that surface!) between the west of Swansea and the north west of the city and the route out to the M4 along Carmarthen Road. Drivers like to feel like they have found a shortcut – and this certainly ‘feels’ like one to me – and to lots of other drivers it would seem as it’s very well used – especially at busy times.
But that usage has come at a big cost to the road surface. It’s never been great – but in the years I’ve been using it, it’s got gradually worse – and the damage seems to be accelerating exponentially. When the first potholes appear – drivers try to avoid them – which places pressure on other parts of the road surface, where more potholes develop.
Now, in places, there are so many potholes – it’s not longer possible to avoid them – you just have to bump along, trying to thread a route through some of the least angry looking chasms – like in one of those games where you have to move the ring of metal along a twisty piece of wire without touching it. Touch the wire and there’s a loud buzz – hit a pothole wrong and there’s an awful, grinding sound from your wheel and a thump from the suspension. All you can do is grit your teeth and hope the garage bill won’t be too high, the damage too great.
Some of the holes can almost swallow up a human – well, sort of… (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
Don’t stray too close to the edge (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
Lots of the potholes are pretty brutal (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
You bounce along, hoping no-one comes in the opposite direction, meaning you’ll have to squeeze past and put a wheel in one of the supermassive black holes sucking in everything – light, gravity, you and your car.
And because drivers have to squeeze past each other at times, the road edges have also started to disintegrate, often severely. Drop down into one of those canyons, and you’ll know about it. In fact, at the Cwmbach Road end of the stretch, the drop-offs either side are so brutal, I’ve seen drivers who perhaps don’t usually go that way literally beached when they’ve pulled over to let someone by, not realising what awaits them.
And the road does attract strangers, as sat navs will often direct people that way. We have had visitors who arrive at our house visibly shaking. They’ve been sent that way by a well-meaning sat nav and can’t quite believe they have made it out alive. If they’ve tackled it at night time, sometimes a cup of tea just isn’t enough to settle their nerves.
It’s tricky to avoid them (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
Who knows what damage is being done to your vehicle (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
I realise, like anywhere else in Wales, Swansea has plenty of potholes to repair – and there are no doubt far more urgent and well-used roads further up the priority list (although I’d flippin’ like to see them!).
But if this road doesn’t get sorted soon, it will become unusable, or some cars will go up or down it and just never be seen again, swallowed up whole. Perhaps it’s destined to be Swansea’s Bermuda triangle – a mysterious place where cars vanish without a trace.
Oh well, once more into the breach. If you think you know a more potholed road – please let me know about it by commenting below[2], or you can just join me in moaning about this one.
What Swansea Council had to say:
A council spokesperson said: “The road is not currently part of our planned maintenance programme for full resurfacing. Pothole teams have previously visited and completed repairs when potholes have been reported. We will continue to monitor the road as part of our routine inspections.
“We would encourage motorists to continue to report potholes to the council so we can repair them as part of our 48hr pothole pledge.”
The authority added that, since January this year (up until Mar 12) it had filled in 2,389 potholes in Swansea. The local authority has a web page where you can report potholes[3] and pledges to try and fix them within 48 hours of them being reported. But it says response times will vary depending upon the size, depth and location of the damage, and some large scale repairs that need more involved work will be added to its work schedule.
Swansea Council’s cabinet has also approved a programme of work that will see road repairs, footpath upgrades and street light improvements across all communities in the city. The package of measures, including almost £6m in the next 12 months with similar sums to follow in the two years after, will see roads repaired and work to prevent roads in good condition from deteriorating.
This year around £1.1m will be invested in the PATCH scheme with a further £1.1m being spent on carriageway resurfacing as well as footway renewals and repairs. There will be £250,000 for street light refurbishment and £400,000 for drainage and preventing flooding during heavy rain.
In addition to that there will be a further £2m set aside for highways and footway resurfacing projects and £800,000 to repair the Morfa Culvert.
References
- ^ The frustrated cafe owner who spent £3,000 on a speed monitor (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ commenting below (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ where you can report potholes (www.swansea.gov.uk)