Roads not built for heavy traffic and icy conditions

Jersey's roads are not designed to withstand heavy traffic and ice

Jersey's roads are not designed to withstand heavy traffic and ice, according to the man looking after the island's infrastructure.

Kevin Armstrong, who is responsible for highways at transport and technical services, said ideally all the roads should be resurfaced regularly.

However, he said his department did not have the budget or contractors to be able to do it.

He said his department inspected roads regularly but relied on tip-offs.

Mr Armstrong said: "When you have ice and snow in the winter the roads crack and they produce a quick mass of potholes."

He said that after the snow thawed in December, 20 potholes appeared overnight on L'Avenue de la Commune in St Peter.

He added that his department was able to plug them within a day and had them cleared and repaired within a week-and-a-half.

'Blind bend'

While his department inspected the islands roads every three months, that does not allow officers to catch all the potholes as they appear.

Mr Armstrong said his staff relied on people telling them which can be done online or through the States of Jersey customer services department at Cyril Le Marquand House in St Helier.

He said Transport and Technical Services responded quickly to potholes in the island but he added that they did not have the resources or enough contractors to respond immediately, so they had to assess the situation on a case-by-case basis.

He said: "If it is where there is heavy vehicle use or on a blind bend then we respond quickly but on country roads we would take more time."

Mr Armstrong said he wanted to introduce a 24-hour, 48-hour and a seven-day response system but did not have enough contractors available in Jersey to make it happen.

He said: "Ideally the roads would never get to a stage where you have potholes appearing, with the exception of bad weather.

"But that would require regular resurfacing of all roads and we don't have the budget or more importantly the contractors to do that."