A WOODLEY man is calling for action over road repairs “gone wrong”.
Cedric Lander said he has been pushing for improvements to Radcot Close and Reading Road for some time
Mr Lander said after potholes in the close were repaired three years ago, the tarmac filling came out eight months later.
“This is basic common sense,” he said. “If you do a job and it goes wrong, if you have any credibility, you come back and you put it right.”
He said the repairs were expected to have a two-year lifespan, and eight months is not good enough.
But Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport, said the close had been inspected earlier this year and no defects were found.
Mr Lander is also concerned about the uneven road surface on Reading Road.
He said an elderly woman tripped, and broke her leg, spending a month in the Royal Berkshire Hospital as a result.
He has been told the road will not be considered for work until next year, or 2023.
Cllr Jorgensen said the area had been inspected and is safe but unsightly.
“If areas do require reactive patching this will be completed as soon as possible,” she said. “Routine safety inspections will continue by our contractor with the next in August or September.”
Mr Lander said he is concerned about the timescales.
“There are 1,750 roads in the borough, and they only look at 100 each year,” he said. “It’s the worst road in Wokingham.”
He is worried that calculations about the position of the potholes and road damage are used to determine how dangerous the road is.
“Algorithms are destroying everybody,” he said. “The worst part is they’ve allocated £5.8 million for the repair of all roads — they could spend double that in Woodley alone.”
Cllr Jorgensen said anyone with specific concerns about road defects should report it via the borough council’s online system.
“Our contractors will visit the location and take any necessary action to ensure the highway is safe,” she said.
