The Linslade pothole that just won't go away!

Locals have “lost the will to live” over the state of the canal bridge road surface along Leighton Road, according to town councillor Mark Freeman.

Cllr Freeman says CBC must have spent a fortune patching up the bridge surface over the years, but the cracks just reopen in next to no time.

He said: “This problem has been recurring ever since the major rebuild on the bridge seven years ago. It seems to spend more time with a pothole than without!

“The location of the pothole, just over the crossing and where traffic is deciding which lane to be in, is a danger as it is very difficult to avoid. Cyclists trying to ride around it are putting themselves in a hazardous position with other vehicles.

“Goodness knows what damage it has done to cars bumping through it. This is a major route as it is the only road in the town linking Leighton with Linslade and the station.

“Over the years, the Highway Authority must have spent a fortune repairing this hole. It would have been better to reconstruct rather than just patch.

“I would have expected that in seven years someone could have found a way of effecting a permanent repair. With the fault first appearing so soon after the major works, surely the original contractor should carry some responsibility for sorting it out?”

A Central Bedfordshire Council spokesperson said: “Due to the level of the bridge deck in relation to the road there is only 40mm of tarmac on the bridge deck which is not ideal.

“Although a specialist material was used to resurface the bridge deck in 2010, because we can only lay a relatively thin layer on tarmac on the bridge deck, it is difficult to prevent water ingress which is causing the potholes to develop.

“We are aware of the problems with the bridge deck and have attended to surface defects on four occasions since 2010. We are continuing to explore ways of treating the problem.”