Quay Street works 'a dog's dinner' - expert (From South Wales Guardian)
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Quay Street works 'a dog's dinner' - expert
6:20am Wednesday 8th August 2012 in News
A MAN who was formerly one of Britain’s top civil engineers has questioned the need for Carmarthenshire county council’s £1m revamp of Ammanford’s Quay Street.
In a letter to the authority, Geoff Tremlett – who was responsible for the reconstruction of the famous Sloboda Bridge across the River Danube – queried the replacement of paving blocks with flagstones after 16 years.
“We design motorways to last for 40 years,” he said.
“Urban roads should surely last for 25.
“This project is either an unnecessary expense or is covering up the fact the original design was wrong in the first place.”
Mr Tremlett, 67, of Glyn Road, Lower Brynaman, ended his long career by taking charge of the rebuilding of Sloboda or Liberty Bridge – the largest bridge over the Danube – after it was destroyed by NATO missiles during the Kosovo conflict in 1999.
Formerly employed by Bedfordshire county council and Hambledon rural district council, he also assisted in the design of the M6 motorway and construction of the M11.
ButMrTremlett says his “blood was boiling” during a recent shopping trip to Ammanford when he witnessed the ongoing works and chatted withworkmen.
“I suspect the county council overlooked the fact a lot of utility companies can dig up the road any time they like – reinstatement of a trench is never easy,” he said.
“What you’re then left with is an uneven surface.
That could be the reason for these works – either that or the street wasn’t laid properly in the first place.
“The paving blocks look lovely, but they’re being reinstated with asphalt and it looks a dog’s dinner, although in fairness the guys told me it’s a temporary reinstatement prior to the whole area being paved over. But what was wrong with the paving blocks that were there before? This seems a completely unnecessary expense.
“If the council was hit with a string of claims from people who had fallen over then surely they should make that known so we’d be aware just why our money is being spent.”
WHAT THE COUNCIL SAYS...
A COUNTY council spokesman denied reports the Quay Street works are costing somewhere in the region of £2m and said the true cost was around £900,000.
“Priorities are focused upon creating a pleasant environment for Quay Street, creating a decluttered area with new street paving, seating, lighting columns and trees,” he added. “Two new CCTV cameras will also be installed.
“The currently uneven form of the street will be graded to create a much more even surface. All works are being undertaken in order to create a pleasant environment attracting people to shop and stay within the town.
“This project is part of the wider regeneration plan formed for Ammanford town centre. Previous works to Quay Street were undertaken prior to local government reorganisation in 1996 by Dinefwr borough council.
“Works are not costing somewhere in the region of £2m. There is a mix of flagstones/ paving stones within the proposals.”
Comments(2)
johnsouthwales
says...
2:50pm Wed 8 Aug 12
the 1996 works spread out to a larger area not just being confined to quay street. without sounding picky, that job was quick. yes there were some problems after such as pooling, and loose stones with people tripping.
but how is it possible that stones were loose? the old road was basically underneath, take away the stones and there's the road. even though the stones were not going anywhere, something was stopping some of the stones from binding. it is understood that sand was used. and even that surface should have been levelled off completely first, hence the sloping 'pavements' that are harmful to walk on.
yes, the pavements looked nice with facing bricks rather than tarmac. but they are dangerous. fford william walker for some strange reason is the worse area when it freezes up in winter, the pavements are risky. they aalways seem to be constantly iced up, and treacherous to walk on compared to other areas. it is actually safer to walk on the road with due care than those slippery pavements and wet pavements that freeze up.
so, 16 years down the line. actually, 14 years down the line it was announced that regeneration work was planned. closing off part of carregaman lane and extending the market area over to the other side, and other works in wind st/tirydail lane junction areas.
not forgetting this current quay st work is only part of quay street even if it is the majority of quay street, hall st and lloyds lane are to be untouched for now. at the bottom end they have to blend in the new paving with the old.
creating the new water ducting was time consuming, and still is.. they have to finish the right hand side first, then repeat on the opposite. but looking at the new ones, the sloping 'pavements' are still there.
probably the new ducting will make it easier for the water company.
£900,000 for that part of quay street?
larger paving stones compared to smaller blocks.
what the new works has got is...that the ground was concreted by about 50mm first then laid over with stones. this didn't happen with the old ones as they were 100mm so there wasn't room for screeding in 1996.
hopefully in mid november things start getting back to normal. i don't recall the 1996 work causing much of a fuss. i remember the shop entrances being gangwayed just the same as it is now... so what's different this time?
Chrisey says...
11:56am Wed 8 Aug 12