Huge pothole causing a headache for motorist

Jan 18 2011 by Cameron Hay, Paisley Daily Express

A HUGE pothole in Paisley town centre is driving motorists round the bend.

Since November last year, a massive crater which spans the length of the junction separating New Street and Causeyside Street has been causing chaos for cars, buses and taxis alike.

Renfrewshire Council had previously been working to repair the surface until snow and sub-zero temperatures hit Paisley.

Now the pothole is causing drivers to slow down to a snail’s pace just to navigate it without damaging their vehicle.

Taxi driver Alex Hampson hit out: “What a nightmare. This hole is an accident waiting to happen.

“It is a real headache for drivers like myself who are having to drive extra slow just to get across it without damaging our cars.

“The junction is in a shocking state and this pothole is getting bigger and bigger by the day.”

Alex, 63, added: “I’d hate to think what driving over that is doing to my car’s suspension.

“I try to avoid it now as much as I can but it is hard to do. When are the council going to fix it?”

Millions of pounds were splashed out last year to repair rocky roads across the Paisley area after angry motorists complained that potholes were driving them loopy.

The Paisley Daily Express revealed in July last year that more than 1,000 potholes had been repaired in Renfrewshire using a new environmentally-friendly system which can restore a road surface in under eight minutes.

The big freeze had left many streets in Renfrewshire littered with deep cracks and craters.

Busy thoroughfares such as Causeyside Street and Broomlands Street were affected, leaving drivers facing an obstacle course of holes and broken tarmac.

Council chiefs claim the extreme winter weather – with temperatures dipping below freezing for long periods and the snow lying for weeks on end – was largely to blame for the state of Renfrewshire’s roads.

And the latest big freeze, which started at the end of November and continued throughout December, had compounded the pothole problem further.

Yesterday, a council spokeswoman revealed the Causeyside Street/New Street pothole had been due to be repaired at the end of November as part of the local authority’s resurfacing programme.

She explained: “We were carrying out work on Causeyside Street as part of our resurfacing programme but this was delayed due to unavoidable circumstances.

“Due to the location and bus routes in the centre of Paisley, this work was only permitted on Sundays. The resurfacing had been planned for Sunday, November 28, but due to the weather conditions that weekend and over the following weeks, we were unable to finish the work.

“The weather and trade holidays also meant that all the quarries were shut and we couldn’t get material.

“We have arranged for a contractor to visit the site to carry out the required patching, with the final resurfacing scheduled thereafter..”